What does this mean for the rest of the Yankees offseason plans?
I see three schools of thought on the Andrew Miller deal:
1) You like it.
He's another former starter turned lights out reliever. He's signed for his age 30-33 years, and he's a lefty. In a division filled with short porches and lefty sluggers, that's an asset. We just saw what a force a monster bullpen can be in the postseason. You just have to be in it to win it, and with a Miller in the bullpen to shorten the game, the Yankees should expect to win virtually every time they take a lead into the late innings. As another plus, Miller will have to shave that ridiculous facial hair, so his signing with the Yankees is a win for fashion and good taste.
Even better, the Yankees added a player without surrendering a draft pick. There are very few times a team gets to keep their draft lineup intact while also adding free agent talent, and the Yankees might have overpaid, but they managed to protect their draft position with the one advantage they hold over all of MLB: just plain cash money.
2) You hate it.
$9M per year for four years is a lot of money to commit to a reliever. Steve Karsay and Kyle Farnsworth remain reminders to Yankee fans of just how wrong a deal for a reliever can go. And, to remind yourself how much money baseball is awash in, Tom Gordon worked his magic for the Yankees for one third that price, and Mariano Rivera already had four World Series rings before he started making that much money.
Or you're sure that this marks the end of the Yankees' spending. They've already made noise about being out on Headley, and won't similar word come about Robertson soon too? You've got to acknowledge that even the Yankees have (self-imposed) financial limits, and $9M per year for a guy who has never closed and who's soon to turn 30 is just a misallocation of resources.
3) You're undecided
You want to love the move, but you can only love the move if this isn't the end. The Yankees need something else to close the 12-game gap between themselves and the Orioles. Nick Markakis heading to Atlanta makes the Orioles weaker, and the Yankees adding Didi Gregorius and Andrew Miller makes them better. But there's still a gap to close, and the Yankees need to do something - add a middle starter like Brandon McCarthy, or add an ace like Max Scherzer, or add a stronger infielder like Chase Headley, or add another bullpen ace like David Robertson.
If this is the start of the sleeping giant finally waking up, if the Yankees took note when the Red Sox signed the two best hitters on the market and said, "We can do better" then you're ready to hop on the bandwagon. But if this is the end, and the Yankees go quiet between now and spring training, you'll view the offseason with disappointment.
So tell me what it is Yankee fans? Love it? Hate it?