Getty MLB pitcher Blake Snell
Blake Snell, two-time Cy Young Award winner and MLB’s second-most prized free agent starting pitcher after Yoshinobu Yamamoto, may want to wear Pinstripes.
According to a January 4 report from SNY MLB insider Andy Martino, Snell has “privately expressed interest” in playing for the New York Yankees.
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“There is an industry expectation that they’ll add at least one impact pitcher. I’ve heard that Snell himself is sort of intrigued with the idea of coming to the Yankees,” Martino said on SNY’s “Baseball Night in New York.”
Snell is looking to cash in as a free agent this offseason after he had a league-best 2.25 ERA with the San Diego Padres last season. He made 32 starts and finished with a 14–9 record and 234 strikeouts across 180 innings pitched. The performance earned him his second Cy Young Award, adding to his first that came with the American League’s Tampa Bay Rays in 2018.
MLB Trade Rumors predicted earlier this offseason that Snell would sign a seven-year contract worth $200 million. Snell, 31, is from Washington state and some have wondered if he prefers to sign with a team on the West Coast, but his agent Scott Boras dismissed that narrative.
“Snell has won a Cy Young both on the East and the West Coast, and in both leagues. He is open to all clubs and is seeking winning and competitive environments,” Boras said, according to the New York Post.
Blake Snell a ‘More Likely Fit’ for Yankees Than Jordan Montgomery?
Martino wrote on January 4 that Snell “seems a more likely fit in New York than Jordan Montgomery, with whom they have also talked,” in reference to the Yankees this offseason.
Montgomery pitched his first six big-league seasons for the Yankees before he was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2022. The lefty has made 32 starts in back-to-back seasons, finishing with strong ERAs of 3.48 and 3.20 in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Snell has a deeper track record of being a top-level starter than Montgomery, whose best stretch came after the Cardinals traded him mid-2023 to the Texas Rangers. With Texas, Montgomery pitched to a 2.79 ERA in 11 starts to help win the World Series.
A Blake Snell & Gerrit Cole 1-2 Punch Would Rank Among MLB’s Best
If Blake Snell signs in the Bronx, the Yankees would enter next season with the reigning Cy Young Award winners from both leagues. Ace Gerrit Cole took home the honors in the American League in 2023, but aside from him, the Yankee rotation is currently full of question marks.
The Yankees will be depending on bounce-back seasons from both Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes. Rodon, a two-time All-Star struggled mightily in his first season with the Bronx Bombers, and finished with a 6.85 ERA in 14 starts while battling injuries throughout the year. Cortes, a 2022 All-Star, saw his ERA balloon to 4.97 last season as he dealt with a shoulder injury.
Owner Hal Steinbrenner is clearly committed to winning in 2024 after the Yankees traded for superstar outfielder Juan Soto, but the team still needs to bolster its starting rotation if it plans to compete for a championship.