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The Yankees are the only team that hasn't signed a free agent

Monday's Say Hey, Baseball includes the Yankees' offseason, Garth Brooks' allegiances and the top 100 prospects.

Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

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One of the largest and most talented free agent markets in recent memory is coming to a close -- okay, well maybe not for Dexter Fowler, Yovani Gallardo and Ian Desmond, but more on them another time. Even though it's February, the Yankees, so well-known for their spending and aggressiveness when it comes to acquiring players, haven't signed a single free agent. In fact, they're the only team to not do so to this point, and it would be the first winter since free agency began where they did not. Don't confuse that for a failure to upgrade, though. New York made a number of trades that should help them in 2016 without the need to invest in another expensive and long-term deal.

The Yankees traded for Starlin Castro, who, for all his problems in the first half, came around at the plate after shifting to second base, where New York needs him. They added Aroldis Chapman to a bullpen that already had Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances, allowing them to shorten games and give their rotation something to lean on. They sent John Ryan Murphy to the Twins to get the still young and promising Aaron Hicks in their outfield. The Yankees won 87 games a year ago with plenty going wrong, so moves like these could be all they needed.

They should get a little more than that from what they already had, too, or at least, that's the hope. A healthy Jacoby Ellsbury could do wonders for the lineup. If Mark Teixeira isn't right, Greg Bird is around for first base. A full season of Luis Severino could be just what the rotation needs. Removing Stephen Drew's awful 2015 from the equation is some addition by subtraction baseball, maybe they won't need Ivan Nova -- there are plenty of things that could go New York's way. And none of them required a free agent acquisition. This won't be a permanent state for the Yankees, either: they only have $130 million in obligations heading into next offseason, so they'll surely start spending big again soon.