Blake Snell — the 2023 NL Cy Young Award winner and best pitcher left in the MLB's free agent market — has made it known which team he'd like to sign with, according to recent rumors.
According to Andy Martino of SNY, Snell has, 'privately expressed an interest in playing for the Yankees'.
Blake Snell has privately expressed an interest in playing for the Yankees, per @martinonyc
"At the moment, Snell seems a more likely fit in New York than Jordan Montgomery, with whom they have also talked.
The team is looking to add to the rotation - aggressively, though not? pic.twitter.com/emML8MGtOk
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) January 4, 2024
Snell's interest in the Yankees shouldn't come as a surprise, considering that Snell prefers signing with a team that is set up to win, both now and in the future — and if there's anything we know about the Yankees, it's that winning is their standard every season (and that they're willing to spend in order to do so.)
Bringing Snell on board also makes sense for New York; considering that, after bringing Juan Soto on board, they need reliable, quality starting pitchers aside from Gerrit Cole.
As Martino put it, "A team that is all in on trying for a championship in 2024 cannot trade its minor league pitching depth for Juan Soto and stop there. The Yanks know that they need to add quality innings."
While the Yankees are hopeful that both Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes will perform better than they did last year, they also aren't willing to pin their postseason hopes on those two starters doing so — hence why they're so keen on signing Snell.
Given that Gerrit Cole won the 2023 AL Cy Young Award, if the Yankees were to sign Snell, they'd become the first team to possess both defending Cy Young winners since the 1990 Kansas City Royals. That fact alone should be enough to convince the Yankees faithful that their team will be a World Series contender in 2024 — if they sign Snell, that is.
Yet, just because Snell has made it known that he'd like to join the Yankees doesn't mean the deal is imminent. There are still plenty of other teams who would love to sign Snell — including the Seattle Mariners, where most of his family resides — and considering who the Dodgers have already added this offseason, other NL West teams (namely, the San Francisco Giants) must feel like signing Snell is the only shot they'll have at competing with LA in the coming years.
Although it's unknown when Snell will make his ultimate decision, it's safe to assume that it will come at some point in January. Therefore, we may only need to wait a few weeks before seeing whether Snell's (and the Yankees') wishes end up coming true.
