Yankees' 2015 questions begin with rotation

There have been upgrades and additions along the way: Chase Headley flipped a two-month audition into a four-year, $52 million contract, Nathan Eovaldi and Didi Gregorius are now on the roster as young, promising players on the rise, and left-hander Andrew Miller provides a dominant arm for the bullpen.

The Yankees have brought back other members of the '14 club in left-hander Chris Capuano and outfielder Chris Young, while trading for left-hander Justin Wilson. They'll also have Alex Rodriguez back on the roster following his season-long suspension.

For what it's worth, the Yanks' Pythagorean win-loss record was calculated to be 77-85 in 2014, so manager Joe Girardi deserves credit for a job well done. Will it be enough to bring back a similar roster, or -- as some rival executives believe -- are the Yankees gearing up to make yet another a big winter splash?

Here are the Yankees' 10 biggest questions as they head into 2015:

10. Do they need to hold their breath with Tanaka?

Two September starts -- a good one against the Blue Jays and a clunker against the Red Sox -- comprises all of the information that the Yankees have about where Tanaka is after rehabbing his partially torn right ulnar collateral ligament. It is better than nothing, of course, and the Yankees were pleased that Tanaka was able to snap off a few splitters against big leaguers and return to Japan healthy.

It's their hope that a few months of rest will permit Tanaka to recapture the form he showed in his first 17 starts of an All-Star season; if so, he should be the Yanks' ace. Chris Carpenter is a good example of a pitcher who continued to have success after a UCL tear, but the Yanks can't let their guard down. They know that any one pitch could be Tanaka's last of the year.

9. Can they count on CC Sabathia as a workhorse, and if not, who can be?

It's no secret that the Yankees worked Sabathia hard in his first four seasons, continuing to log miles after he was similarly pushed by the Indians and especially by the Brewers. Sabathia never complained; he loved having the ball in his palm, and he rewarded the Yanks with a World Series title and three All-Star selections.

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Yankees' 2015 questions begin with rotation