Report: Yankees have offer on table for Snell
The New York Yankees are still seriously interested in signing free-agent ace Blake Snell.
New York has an an offer on the table for Snell, a source told Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, who adds the Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco Giants could also still be in the mix for the star left-hander.
There's been speculation that Snell, along with other Scott Boras clients, could take a short-term deal with a higher average annual value at this point, according to Brendan Kuty and Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. However, sources told Kuty and Kirschner that wouldn't make a lot of sense for the Yankees due to the competitive balance tax.
The team's competitive balance tax payroll is reportedly already above MLB's highest tier of $297 million. New York would incur a penalty of a 110% tax on every dollar the team spends above the limit, Kuty and Kirschner note.
As of yesterday, there wasn’t a sense at Yankees camp that the team was close to adding Blake Snell. A few people in the know said there hadn’t been momentum lately. No one is saying it’s impossible, but that was the tone yesterday
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) February 19, 2024
The Yankees offered a long-term pact with no opt-out clauses and a lower AAV to the reigning NL Cy Young winner before inking Marcus Stroman in mid-January, sources told Kuty and Kirschner.
Reports suggest the proposed deal was for six years and $150 million.
Snell, who's also the 2018 AL Cy Young winner, led the majors with a 2.25 ERA among qualified starters last season. The 31-year-old also recorded a career-high 234 strikeouts with an MLB-high 99 walks over 180 innings (32 starts) for the San Diego Padres.