Pitching is always a premium in MLB, especially in the postseason, so the Yankees could use another high-quality arm in their rotation.
After Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon, there are a lot of unknowns in the rotation. Marcus Stroman had a good first half of 2024 before his lack of consistency relegated him to the bullpen by the end. Nestor Cortes‘ injuries piled up and he has become unreliable most seasons while Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt are very young and still learning how to pitch at the highest level.
If we’re being honest, Rodon was projected to be the Yankees’ No. 2 when they signed him before the 2023 season but the southpaw has yet to live up to that title or his contract. Picking up another starter to fill that role and slide Rodon to the No. 3 starter would be best for the Yankees, but is there anyone in free agency who can do so?
There are a few starters in the market this offseason but one has had the eye of GM Brian Cashman and the Yankees in the past: Blake Snell.
Last offseason, the Yankees were negotiating with Snell and his camp. They reportedly offered Snell a deal worth $150 million, which was turned down. The Yankees pivoted to Stroman and Snell eventually wound up in San Francisco for $62 million over two years, which he opted out of after the 2024 season.
So, should the Yankees try again with Snell? Here are the pros and cons…
PROS
Snell has plenty of accolades (two Cy Youngs), experience (nine seasons; three in the postseason) and a track record to be at the top of any team’s rotation.
Although he got off to a terrible start in 2024 — thanks to signing late — Snell was one of the best pitchers in the National League in the second half. Snell pitched to a 0-3 record and a 6.31 ERA over his first eight starts, but was a perfect 5-0 with a 1.45 ERA in his final 12 starts, which included a no-hitter.
And that’s coming off his 2023 Cy Young season when he pitched to a 14-9 record and a league-best 2.25 ERA with the San Diego Padres. Those incredible numbers are thanks to his four-pitch mix, which includes a four-seam fastball that batters hit just .200 against while the southpaw’s curveball is his most devastating pitch.
Hitters hit just .111 with a .183 slugging percentage against Snell’s curve this past season.
And then there’s the playoff performances. In 12 games (10 starts), Snell has pitched to a solid 3.33 ERA. And while he’s a bit up-and-down in individual games, we can’t forget his near no-hitter during the 2020 World Series when he was inexplicably pulled as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays.
CONS
The big knock on Snell is his inconsistency. He had two unbelievable years in 2018 and 2023 (winning the Cy Young in both seasons) but outside of them, he’s been mediocre. Even this past year when his second half was Cy Young-esque, it was offset by a poor first half. He’s also a pitcher that doesn’t pitch deep into games. He’s pitched more than 130 innings in a season twice, and those came in those Cy Young years. With how infrequent the Yankees’ current pitching staff gets to pitch deep into games — aside from Cole — should the Yanks want another high-priced starter who can only give 5-6 innings?
And then there’s the price. The Yankees were clearly unafraid to give Snell a lucrative deal with Cole and Rodon’s contracts already on the books, but that was in a year when Juan Soto was already under a deal. Now that Soto will be commanding big bucks and the Yankees are likely to be one of the finalists for him, it’s unclear whether they can swing a deal for Snell on top of one for Soto.
The saving grace, if you can say that, is that Snell is a year older so the deal he was looking for last offseason will likely not be there, but that also brings its own problems. By the time 2025 comes around, Snell will be 32, the same age as Rodon and two years younger than Cole. That’s three 30-somethings anchoring a rotation that will likely be paid close to $100 million in 2025.
VERDICT
The Yankees can certainly use another proven arm, especially for the postseason. But if Soto is on the books for 2025 and beyond it’s hard to justify bringing on another potential big contract when the team has so many needs already. If Snell is willing to take a deal with plenty of opt-outs, the Yankees should do it, but the starting pitching wasn’t the main issue in the postseason and certainly not in the World Series. If Soto goes elsewhere, the Yanks will have the money to add another ace-type to their rotation, and they should.
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