Insider Reveals Yankees Offered More Than $162 Million to Blake Snell

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Starter Blake Snell won the National League's Cy Young award with the San Diego Padres in 2023.

The baseball world has been watching closely as the New York Yankees circle reigning NL Cy Young award winner Blake Snell.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Yankees’ have been the only team to present Snell with an offer, but the two sides have apparently remained apart on a final price. 

Yankees insider Jon Heyman has now revealed additional details about the negotiation for the New York Post, reporting that the team offered an even more lucrative deal than the six-year, $162 million one it gave starter Carlos Rodón in 2022.

“The Yankees’ exact offer to Blake Snell isn’t known, but word is they were willing to go ‘above Rodon,’ which presumably means more than the $27 million per year Carlos Rodon got on his six-year Yankees deal,” Heyman reported.

Will the New York Yankees Add Blake Snell in 2024 Offseason?

Snell has indicated privately that he would like to become a Yankee by Opening Day and Yankee stars Gerrit Cole and Aaron Judge have encouraged the team to make it a reality.

Many analysts predict that Snell will ultimately find himself wearing pinstripes should the Yankees sweeten their opening offer. But even if the Yankees were initially willing to exceed their contract for Rodón, Snell’s asking price could remain out of reach.

“It is believed the two-time Cy Young winner seeks $30M-plus and likely views one comp as Stephen Strasburg — who got $245M over seven years, which is $35M a year,” per Heyman.

He added that the early returns on their investment in Rodón — which saw his first $27 million season with the Yankees mired by frequent trips to the injured list and a 6.85 ERA in just 64.1 innings —  has generally scared New York away from making big deals for starters.

“Yankees people suggest they aren’t looking at the starter market,” Heyman indicated. “Though the $162M Rodon deal was a measuring stick for the Yankees, it’s also believed Rodon’s rough first season in The Bronx made … them less willing to go huge for Snell.”

All told, New York still seems like a probably destination for Snell. But if another team comes in with a blockbuster offer, the Yankees may be inclined to sit out a bidding war.

Yankees Tied to Reliever Ryan Brasier for Potential Signing

In addition to their hunt for more rotation depth, the Yankees have been tied to a range of relief options despite coming into 2024 with a relatively strong bullpen. Last season, the relief corps had MLB’s best ERA at 3.34.

The team has been tied to Wandy Peralta, Héctor Neris, Phil Maton and Ryan Brasier, among other relievers, this offseason. Peralta has since joined the San Diego Padres, Neris has joined the Chicago Cubs and Maton is headed to the Tampa Bay Rays.

But Brasier is still a viable option for the Yankees after he had a stellar second half of the 2023 season following a trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

“He joined the Los Angeles Dodgers and posted a 0.70 ERA in 39 appearances after June 21,” Zachary Rymer noted for Bleacher Report, adding that the Yankees could be a good fit for the free agent. “No reliever who pitched as many as 38 innings after then did better.”