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Until now, the New York Yankees hadn't spent a dime in free agency. The Evil Empire had made some moves, but they hadn't brought anyone in by free agency until they signed Cody Poteet on Wednesday.
The pitcher joins their roster as the first player to ink a new deal with them during the offseason.
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It's not exactly inspiring news for one of the biggest franchises out there. The Yankees are known for getting the big free agents, but it's January, and they hadn't signed anyone until this relatively unheralded pitcher.
Fans aren't very excited about that, to say the least. The club missed out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and the rest of their interest has been sparing towards free agents who haven't yet signed.
"Who tf is this, is this really our rotation addition?," tweeted one.
"Pretty surprised this is an MLB contract," chimed in another.
Here are some of the top reactions on X:
The Yankees made trades earlier in the offseason, including bringing in Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres.
Nevertheless, they missed out on signing Yamamoto and haven't made offers to any of the other big free agents yet, which has fans concerned as Spring Training creeps closer.
Yankees finally sign player as big names await
The New York Yankees finally added a player in free agency, but bigger moves could still be on the way. For starters, the move to trade for Juan Soto and to get Alex Verdugo from the Boston Red Sox are good.
Moving on, they're still interested in players. They have expressed interest in Jordan Montgomery, and reports have also indicated that they viewed trading for Dylan Cease from the Chicago White Sox was a good backup to signing Yamamoto.
There's also Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell and others on the free agent marker. Whispers of a Corbin Burnes, Randy Arozarena or Shane Bieber trade are also in the air, and all of them would fit what the Yankees need.
This is not a world-changing move for the franchise, but it's a depth move that keeps them in on the top free agents the rest of the way. Whether or not they land any remains to be seen, though.
