Every MLB offseason, you can be sure of two things. One, there will be many free agents, and two, the New York Yankees will try to go after the biggest and the best player of them all. This offseason is no different.
Some notable free agents this season are first basemen Carlos Pena, catcher Joe Mauer, outfielder Jayson Werth and designated hitter Adam Dunn. But arguably the best player in this year’s free agent class is pitcher Cliff Lee.
Lee spent last season with the Seattle Mariners and the American League Champions Texas Rangers after being realized by the Philadelphia Phillies the previous season. He is one of the few pitchers in MLB history to pitch in back-to-back World Series for two different teams.
Lee is considered to be one of the best pitchers in the game. During mid season when the Mariners put Lee on the trading block, many teams were interested, including the New York Yankees. Many people thought that Lee would end up in New York, but a deal could not be made and Lee ended up going to the Rangers.
But now the season is over, Lee is once again available and the Yankees are going after him. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone because the Yankees have a track record of going after the most talented players every offseason.
In the past five years, the Yankees have signed big names such as Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, all in the offseason.
All of this spending has lead some people say that the Yankees use their money to “buy a team” which gives an unfair advantage over teams with less money.
I think the Yankees are justified in spending the money on high profile players based solely on the fact that they are not breaking any MLB rules or regulations.
Though the Yankees say that signing Lee this offseason is not their number one priority, don’t be surprised if you see him wearing pin stripes next season.