4 players the Yankees gave up on too soon

Hayden Wesneski, RHP

Yes, Wesneski's coming off a poor start, just like Waldichuk and Sears. If you want to argue the latter two deserve more time and should be on this list by Wesneski's side, we understand that.

But one look at Wesneski and it's obvious his sharp breakers are the type of hard-to-teach pitch you don't give up on so easily. Scott Effross could end up being a valuable contributor to the Yankees' bullpen, and he'll have many years of team control left to prove that, once he recovers from Tommy John.

Wesneski was a steep price to pay for him, even if he'd stayed healthy. He wowed in Yankees camp last winter, then made it to the precipice of the bigs before Cashman dealt him to Chicago last summer. The right-hander was promoted to the Cubbies almost immediately, and in six outings (four starts), he posted a sparkling 2.18 ERA, striking out 33 men in 33 innings (and allowing 24 hits) with the bender.

This season? Yeah, it's started a bit rougher; the Mariners knocked him off his block in his second appearance of the year after he won the No. 5 job outright. But Wesneski's longer body of impressive work gives him the boost over the A's hurlers, and we'll predict that by midseason, this regret will only loom larger.