Bronx Bomber Ball

In today’s game of baseball, overpaying for free agents is inevitable. If you want to sign your guy, you are going to make sure nobody outbids you in the process. Nowadays, it seems like every free agent is getting overpaid. Seven years and $161 million for Chris Davis? Eight years at $184 million for Jason Heyward? Seven years for $153 million for Jacoby Ellsbury? Sure, the Yankees overpaid Aroldis Chapman signing him to a five year deal worth $86 million, a deal that shattered the previous record for any relief pitcher. But the point is, they intended to overpay him. Resigning Chapman after dealing him to the World Series champion Chicago Cubs was a priority for Brian Cashman, and after getting it done, this is a signing that should be celebrated. Photo Credit: Jerry Lai | USA TODAY Sports

We’re now at the most exciting point of the MLB offseason, where executives and reporters collide for a few days of an abundance of roster transactions and intense rumors at the Winter Meetings. Already in day one at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Maryland, we have received quite a bit of interesting rumors that directly affect or involve the Yankees. Screenshot via MLB TV

Even after two marquee midseason trades in which the New York Yankees shipped elite relievers Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman to the two eventual teams to compete in the World Series, the pinstripers' bullpen still ranked among the best in baseball in several pitching statistics come seasons end. After the aforementioned player’s departure from the Bronx, the ‘pen was led by the likes of Dellin Betances and Adam Warren, and finished the season with an American League-best .224 BAA (batting average against,) and second in strikeouts (578) and wins (36.) Unfortunately for Yankees fans, despite these impressive statistics, its bullpen was only able to muster a 3.67 ERA — the 16th best in the MLB (7th in the AL.) While the Yankees’ bullpen was perhaps its greatest strength through August, the bullpen imploded in several important September games — most noticeably by overworked closer Dellin Betances — which ultimately kept the Yankees out of the playoffs.  While Dellin Bet...