Reigning NL Cy Young Winner Makes Bold Statement as Free Agency Drags On
After originally wanting a $200+ million deal in free agency, two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell has reportedly changed his tune.
Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today:
Snell, 28, appears to be more open to a short-term deal and hitting the marketplace again. Yet, the New York Yankees are the only team that has confirmed they made an offer to Snell, and that was for $150 million over five years a month ago, which no longer is on the table. The Yankees says they’re not interested in signing Snell to a short-term deal, considering the luxury tax implications and loss of a draft pick.
Snell hasn't gotten the deal he wants perhaps for any number of reasons:
1) Teams in general are more leery of big contracts for pitchers approaching or at 30 years old. Chris Sale's extension with the Red Sox didn't work out, neither did Jacob deGrom's long-term deal with the Texas Rangers (thus far). Also, David Price didn't get much run out of his big deal with the Red Sox. Nightengale's article says that Snell is 28 but he's actually 31, so the worry is even greater.
2) Teams could be worried in general about his fluctuation in performances. While he won the Cy Young in 2018 with the Rays and 2023 with the Padres, he hasn't even been an All-Star in any year other than 2018. He's had an ERA over 4.00 in three of his seven full seasons (COVID year excluded).
If a team is willing to go big-money for short years, that could certainly be appealing to him and could open up the bidding to multiple other teams.
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