UNITED STATES - CIRCA 2000: New York Yankees' manager Joe Torre is unhappy with having to remove starting pitcher Andy Pettitte during the fourth inning of game against the Oakland Athletics at the Network Associates Coliseum. The Yankees went on to win Game 5 of the American League Division Series with a score of 7-5, and will face the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday for the American League championship. (Photo by Linda Cataffo/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
It was previously reported that the New York Yankees extended a $150 million, six-year contract to pitcher Blake Snell, a free agent.
We now know more about Snell’s counterargument, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today:
– With less than three weeks until spring training begins, neither Cody Bellinger nor J.D. Martinez have gotten a formal contract offer. Blake Snell, the winner of two Cy Young awards, received only one offer, a six-year, $150 million contract from the New York Yankees, after Snell had asked for $270 million spread over nine years.
1) Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has never pitched in Major League Baseball, received $325 million this offseason; clearly, there is a lot of money available for pitchers. Given where he is in his career, it makes sense that Snell wants a large salary, but it doesn’t seem realistic that he will receive anything near that asking amount.
Furthermore, recent large-money deals for seasoned pitchers haven’t exactly gone as planned. After a disastrous trade to the Braves, Chris Sale was released by the Red Sox. The Yankees signed Carlos Rodon to a six-year contract last year, and deGrom had another injury in 2023 that will keep him out of action for the majority of 2024. Additionally, Robbie Ray disappears for at least a year and a half following
2) Going back to Snell, there have been speculations that he wants to play for the Seattle Mariners, his home team, but they don’t seem to be able to pay him anything that would be competitive for his talents.
He just finished a season in which he pitched for the San Diego Padres, going 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA. After winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2018 while playing for the Tampa Bay Rays, he was awarded his second Cy Young Award.
