During this off season, the New York Yankees have reported some good news and some bad. They signed Masahiro Tanaka, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, and Carlos Beltran but shared the news that this will be Derek Jeter’s final season. Although they have also saved some money with the suspension of Alex Rodriguez, $25 million dollars to be exact, to make up for the loss of Rodriquez  , the Yanks spent over $490 million dollars with all of their free agent signings.

Tanaka was the best pick up for the Yanks this offseason and was arguably the best free agent pitcher on the market and his stats prove it. He posted a 1.27 ERA with the Rakuten Eagles in 2013, along with a 24-0 Record. He could be one of the best Japanese pitchers to ever pitch in the MLB.

Ellsbury has had a few great seasons with the Yankees rival, Boston Red Sox and despite numerous injuries, has still hit a .298 career average. McCann has proven over the last few seasons that he has  great talent,and the Yankees are paying $85 million dollars for that talent. And finally there is the veteran, ex-met, 2011 World Series champ Carlos Beltran who not only hit a .296 AVG. in the past season, he also hit 24 homers.

Even with all these signings, Yankee fans are still not entirely confident that the team can produce a championship this year. The bullpen is still shaky, considering the Yankees lost Boone Logan, Joba Chamberlain to free-agency, and of course the great Mariano Rivera to retiring. And fans don’t believe that David Robertson and Sweet Home Alabama won’t compare to Rivera and Enter Sandman. So the question is, can the Yankees win a title with this team?

The Yankees signings helped them where they needed it the most last season, the outfield, on the mound, and behind home plate. But there are still many questions about the infield. With Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter coming off of big injuries, and the signing of the fragile Brian Roberts who hasn’t played over 100 games in a season since 2009. Plus the 31-year old second baseman Kelly Johnson, who played his last 3 seasons with Tampa Bay and Toronto, both of which are in the same division as the Yankees. With the way the infield is looking, the players might be out on the field with crutches and casts at the beginning of this upcoming season.

That’s not all the Yankees are still lacking on their roster. Their bullpen last year was one of the best in baseball, topping it off with the best closer in the game. Now, due to losing key bullpen  pitchers in free-agency and Rivera retiring, the Yankees bullpen is not nearly as good as it was last season. Fans believe that David Robertson still doesn’t have what it takes to take over the closing position. In fact, the fans preferred the Yankees sign a new closer like the Oakland A’s Grant Balfour or Baltimore Orioles Jim Johnson instead of giving Robertson a chance to prove himself to be a possibly elite closer in the MLB. In my opinion, Robertson deserves the closer role. In the past 3 seasons, Robertson has had a 1.91 ERA, and 97 holds. Robertson thought he would take over the closing job in 2012, when Mariano tore a ligament in his knee, but Rafael Soriano took over instead. That was Robertson’s worst year of the past 3, posting a 2-7 record with a 2.67 ERA, not numbers you want your setup man to have. Robertson’s numbers where much better in 2013 despite the Yankees failing to make the playoffs for the 2nd time in the last 19 years. One of the reasons for not making the playoffs was the A-rod drama.

Ever since the beginning of the 2013 season, A-rod has been back and forth between the baseball diamond, and the court  room. And now after almost a year of fighting, A-rod will be suspended for 162 games, a full season in the MLB. The original suspension was for 210 games, but the MLB commissioner Bud Selig and Alex’s lawyer have agreed to just a 162 game suspension without pay. The key factor for the Yankees was going to be if he got paid or not. If Alex didn’t get suspended, the Yankees would be paying an extra $25 million dollars on their payroll, which meant they probably wouldn’t have signed the players they did. Because of the suspension the Yankees could afford to sign the great new additions that are on their roster today.

Overall, the Yankees offseason has been a good one. Nothing to brag about because of the players they lost. But nothing to be ecstatic over either. My grade for the Yankees this offseason is a B+. Obviously they have made some great additions and obviously they have lost a few pieces. But in the end, all that matters is winning that championship trophy, watching your favorite players hoist it above their heads, and with this roster that is a definite possibility.