The New York Yankees tried one last time to add pitcher Blake Snell to their team, but he ended up signing a $62 million contract with the San Francisco Giants instead . “The Yankees offered $150 million last month to Blake Snell but pulled their offer and declined to re-enter the sweepstakes on Sunday,”
USA Today’s MLB insider Bob Nightengale reported Snell wanted a high average annual value (AAV) for his contract and plans to re-test the market soon. His new deal.
includes an opt out , according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.The New York Yankees ‘Renewed Talks’ for Snell in the Past Few Days
The Yankees had been connected to Snell for most of the offseason, especially after their ace Gerrit Cole got injured and will be
out for weeks . The Yankees' payroll meant that offering Snell a high annual value would have resulted in a huge tax hit.“The Yankees and Snell’s agent, Scott Boras, conducted renewed talks over the past few days, but they never got close to a deal after trying several avenues to try to blunt the 110 percent, fourth-tier tax the Yankees are confronting as a team above the final $297 million threshold,”
Heyman reported . “Boras and the Yankees were trying to devise creative ways to lessen the tax, but ultimately he was going to be quite expensive for the Yankees since they are one of three teams over the fourth-tier tax, with no obvious way to cut salary,”Matching the Giants’ deal for Snell would have cost the Yankees $96.1 million after the penalty,
The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty noted The New York Yankees Continue to Seek Pitching Depth.
Snell would have improved the Yankees' pitching staff, especially with Cole injured. The team is also hoping for improved performances from Carlos Rodón (who had a
6.85 ERA in an injury-plagued 2023 ), Nestor Cortes (who had a4.97 ERA in his own injury-plagued 2023 ) and Clark Schmidt (who had a4.64 ERA in 2023 The team added veteran Marcus Stroman (who had a)
3.95 ERA with the Chicago Cubs last season ) and will otherwise look toward prospects Cody Poteet, Clayton Beeter and Luis Gil as well as veteran Luke Weaver to fill out the starting staff.Overall, the rotation seems far from World Series ready, and the team is still looking to address that, even with Snell off the market.
“The Yankees will continue to pursue starting pitching but their options are limited, particularly since they are even less confident Jordan Montgomery, the top remaining free agent, is interested in returning to the Bronx,”
Heyman added . “The Yankees haven’t been able to get any traction in trade talks for Marlins star Jesus Luzardo or others, and the starters who remain on the market are more depth pieces, led by 2023 All-Star Michael Lorenzen and Mike Clevinger.”None of those candidates have the pedigree of Snell, who won his second Cy Young after a 2023 season in which he
was first in the major leagues with a 2.25 earned run average also selected for the All-MLB first team. He was The New York Yankees resumed discussions with Blake Snell’s representative Scott Boras before he agreed to a $66 million contract with the San Francisco Giants..
