The New York Yankees’ interest in Blake Snell dates back much farther than MLB trade deadline season. But after failing to come to an agreement with the 2023 Cy Young winner in the offseason, they may look to acquire him in the coming days.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported on Sunday, July 28 that the Yankees are among the six teams to check in on Snell, now with the San Francisco Giants.
That’s not to say the Yankees can simply offer up a few prospects and bring Snell over. As Heyman said, a deal for him is “complicated.” For one thing, Snell missed a month with a groin injury, and before that was awful in his first six starts (9.51 ERA). Since returning, however, he has pitched to a 0.75 ERA in 24 innings. That’s the player the Giants thought they were getting when they signed him to a $62 million contract in the offseason.
That $62 million is another complication. As Heyman noted, the Yankees have already blown past the luxury tax threshold, and owner Hal Steinbrenner said back in May that their current spending is “not sustainable.”
Then there’s the Giants’ part of it all. They’re 52-55 but within striking distance of a National League Wild Card spot (4.5 games back). Do they even want to deal someone who can be their best pitcher in August and September — and could, reasonably, return to Cy Young form in 2025?
The Complications of a Blake Snell Yankees Trade
The Yankees have the prospects to land Snell. Even after dealing for Jazz Chisholm over the weekend, they retained each of their biggest trade chips. For a player as expensive as Snell, it’s not likely the Yankees would want to trade one of their two best prospects, Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones.
Everson Perreira seems to be the odd man out in the Yankees’ future outfield plans. He is out for the rest of the season with an elbow injury, which could decrease his value, but MLB Pipeline ranked him the fifth-best in the Yankees’ system at the beginning of the year. Will Warren has also been a popular name in Yankees trade rumors but has struggled in Triple-A this season. (Honestly, one could say the same about Jones in Double-A.)
More importantly than finding the right prospect combination, both teams would have to figure out the money component. It could be as simple as the Giants eating some of the cash remaining on Snell’s deal if they’re willing.
Or the Yankees can find a way to offload some salary — perhaps with a player making eight figures who has underperformed and plays a position the Yankees just added depth in.
Gleyber Torres is making $14.2 million this season and is a free agent at the end of the year. If the Giants take him in a deal, they can let Torres use the rest of the season as an audition to perhaps return next year when he hits the open market.
The Yankees Need a Pitcher Like Blake Snell
The Yankees’ rotation is in rough shape, to put it nicely. Provided Gerrit Cole isn’t facing the Mets, he should be reliable, but after that there are question marks.
Nestor Cortes has yet to rediscover his 2022 All-Star form and Marcus Stroman does not look like the same pitcher he was in the first two months. In his past seven starts, he has as 5.56 ERA with opponents hitting better than .300 off him. Not to be outdone, Carlos Rodon has a 7.94 ERA in his past eight starts with opponents hitting for a .956 OPS.
Luis Gil seems to have bounced back from his mini slump but has already exceeded his career high in innings pitched. Then there’s Clarke Schmidt, who was excellent in 11 starts before his injury. He should be back sometime in August but that’s not something you can count on.
Snell would add real stability to the Yankees’ rotation and become a dominant 1-2 punch with Cole — and maybe Gil if he can stay effective.
The Yankees have been downright bad for six weeks, but their emotional win over the Red Sox on Saturday coupled with their trade for Chisholm could start to change the tone around the club. Now imagine what bringing in a Cy Young winner could do.
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