Even the Tigers just leapfrogged Yankees with contract strategy NYY refuses to employ

On Wednesday night, MLB experienced one of the most bizarrely busy evenings of the entire offseason. Isiah Kiner-Falefa signed with the Red Sox (ha!). Miguel Andújar signed with the Padres. And the Tigers made a massive splash for Framber Valdez. All of these moves impacted the New York Yankees in some way.

The most significant of which was Valdez, who now joins reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal in Detroit's impressive starting rotation. Is it the best fit in the world? Not really, but it's one that signals a willingness to win and go over the top for at least the 2026 season.

Not only that, but the Tigers didn't weigh themselves down with the acquisition. Why? Because they managed to pull off the short-term, high AAV strategy — one that the Yankees, for whatever reason, refuse to employ to better their immediate outlook. Instead, they'd rather give DJ LeMahieu and Max Fried two extra years. They'd rather acquire 10 years of Giancarlo Stanton. They'd rather extend Aaron Hicks for seven years.

Though some of their long-term deals have been great, like those given to Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole, more times than not they get burned. So why not try something different for once? And how has a team like the Tigers, who are almost always reluctant to spend, beat you to the punch?

Valdez will make $38.33 million per season and has an opt-out clause after 2027. At the very least, this gives the Tigers a No.1 starter if Skubal departs after 2026. At best, he stays for another year or two, Skubal returns, and they try to run the table in the AL.

Yankees reminded of strategy they must employ after Framber Valdez signs with Tigers

Now, we will say this. There's certainly a theory surrounding these short-term, high AAV deals that may work against the Yankees. For starters, the two teams who have been at the forefront of this phenomenon are the Dodgers and Mets. The Yankees should be in that stratopshere, shouldn't they?

Not so fast. The market has dictated that both the Dodgers and Mets must make record-shattering offers in order to get what they want. Just look at Trevor Bauer ($34 million), Edwin Diaz ($23 million) and Kyle Tucker ($60 million) for the Dodgers and Max Scherzer ($43.33 million), Justin Verlander ($43.35 million) and Bo Bichette ($42 million) for the Mets. All of those, in some capacity, are objectively ridiculous. In most cases, fans wouldn't be on board with that unless it were the final piece to get the Yankees over the World Series hump.

On the flip side, if agents aren't getting massive salaries like that, then they're looking to smaller markets or more careful spenders to dish out a similar contract to give their clients free agency flexibility. Look at Carlos Correa's first Twins contract (three years, $105 million with opt outs), Cody Bellinger's contract with the Cubs (three years, $80 million with opt outs), and Carlos Rodón's/Blake Snell's contracts with the Giants (two years, $44 million with an opt out and two years, $62 million with an opt out).

In these cases, agents are not letting the big-market behemoths like the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays and Phillies get away with what could be viewed as a "bargain". Going to mid-market/small market teams allows them to raise the floor for these types of contracts, forcing the teams with deeper pockets to go above and beyond.

That said ... THAT SAID ... the Yankees seemingly don't even try here. Their philosophy has remained clear ever since the Aaron Judge era began — they want to limit excessively high salaries on their payroll so they have flexibility to reset the tax and avoid paying somebody else more than their to players (like the whole Yoshinobu Yamamoto/Gerrit Cole thing). The optics somewhat make sense. Just imagine if Bo Bichette was making $42 million next to Judge's $40 million on the 2026 Yankees. It wouldn't feel right.

But the main goal is a World Series, at any cost, during Judge's window. We're not saying any of the ridiculous short-term contracts this offseason were the answer, but the Yankees have been reluctant to consider this type of pivot to improve their fortunes on a year to year basis. Maybe there hasn't been a deal/player they liked, but you can't both pass on the best long-term (Corey Seager, Bryce Harper) and short-term candidates constantly while finding new ways to get bounced from the postseason.