Bleacher Report's 'biggest offseason regret' for Yankees ignores important points

Everyone who hates the New York Yankees (understandable) seems to have forgotten the New York Yankees acquired Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo, Trent Grisham and Marcus Stroman this offseason while anticipating big years from guys like Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells (among others).

That hasn't stopped the outlandish chatter, though, from ESPN's broadcast claiming the Yankees will battle it out for last place in the AL East with the Boston Red Sox to Baseball-Reference dropping 2024 projections based on the Yankees' last 100 games played (without factoring in roster changes or injuries). Smart. And cool. Smart and cool.

What else we got? The Yankees shouldn't have signed Aaron Judge because of his injury issues? The pitching depth the Yankees surrendered for Soto was too big of a loss? We're here to listen to all of the nonsense.

Though we wouldn't call Bleacher Report's latest assessment exactly that, their attempt at diagnosing one of the Yankees "regrets" this offseason was nothing but an exercise in picking the lowest-hanging fruit off the nearest tree.

Per B/R, the Yankees will rue the day they didn't add a frontline starter prior to the start of the 2024 campaign.

Will Yankees really regret passing on the specifics of these pitching additions?

See, now, it depends what you define as a "regret." If you looked at the Yankees rotation after the addition of Stroman, there was no reason to regret not going after other players. They filled the group and had reinforcements in the bullpen and at Triple-A.

If you believe regrets should include the inability to predict what will happen in the future as well as turning a blind eye to previous attempts to sign starting pitchers, then we're spot on right here.

The Yankees tried for the two best frontline starts on the market. Yoshinobu Yamamoto never wanted to be a Yankee and chose the Dodgers after wasting everyone's time as he drove up the price on Steve Cohen. Cashman offered the most unique and favorable contract to the right-hander, but he still declined.

Then, before the Stroman deal, the Yankees reportedly offered Blake Snell $150 million. He declined, the Yankees said "ok great," and then promptly signed Stroman to get on with their lives instead of playing Scott Boras' game.

And, as of right now, they reportedly remain engaged with Jordan Montgomery as they try to add some more reinforcements before Opening Day.

So what should the Yankees regret? Yamamoto always knowing where he wanted to be? Snell rejecting the $150 million offer only to sign a worse deal with the Giants? Montgomery not relenting on his seven-year ask? Cole getting unexpectedly injured just before the start of the year? Both the Brewers and White Sox requesting Spencer Jones as the starting point in trade talks for Corbin Burnes and Dylan Cease, only to take lesser trade packages from the Orioles and Padres?

Yes, there are questions about Carlos Rodón's ability to bounce back. There are concerns about Nestor Cortes' longevity due to a shoulder issue. There's uncertainty with Stroman's ability to make 30 or more starts based on his recent flare-ups. There's a chance Clarke Schmidt may need a cap on his innings after reaching a career high in 2023.

But every team has some combination of those problems. While it is the Yankees' fault they built a rotation on stilts that really hinged on the health of Cole for the entirety of the year, it can't be said they "didn't have enough pitching behind their ace." Not only that, but we can't ignore how the team aggressively tried to address the rotation before Cole had even gotten hurt.

The Yankees didn't miss any opportunities, which is what "regret" implies. They had opportunities taken from them that were beyond their control, outside of doing something drastic or short-sighted (like giving Yamamoto $375 million or paying Snell $225 million).

They did what they could. Now, if you want to talk about the bench situation? Or the countless Cashman misses over the last few years? Or the oft-injured players who are constantly baked into the Yankees' important plans?

"Regrets, I've had a few ... " just not about the 2023-2024 offseason pitching endeavors.