Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees in Talks With Top Free Agent Aces Amid Blake Snell Signing

Blake Snell signing with the Dodgers hasn't kept the New York Yankees from talking to other top free agent pitchers.

Grant Young

Oct 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Yankees general manger Brian Cashman before game two of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Oct 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Yankees general manger Brian Cashman before game two of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
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The New York Yankees have made it exceedingly clear that they're not going to make a bid on any other top-tier free agents until the Juan Soto sweepstakes has concluded.

While this makes perfect sense for the franchise (given that Soto is a generational talent who proved his worth multiple times over last season), it also means that the Yankees might miss out on some of the other best players available.

This was made apparent on Tuesday, when it was announced that the Los Angeles Dodgers signed two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.

Snell (who had a Zoom call with the Yankees on Tuesday) was one of three top free agent pitchers heading into this offseason, along with Corbin Burnes and Max Fried.

And according to a November 27 article from the New York Post's Jon Heyman, the Yankees are still speaking with those other two aces in the wake of Snell joining the World Series champions.

"The Yankees recently staged calls with star free agent starters Corbin Burnes and Max Fried, along with several other top available players, but remain almost solely focused on Soto and have not made offers to the pitchers, who might merely be part of the Yankees’ Plan B in case Soto goes to the Mets, Dodgers, Red Sox, Blue Jays or perhaps an unknown mystery team," Heyman wrote.

The sheer money that signing Soto will require is what's keeping the Yankees from being all-in on Burnes and/or Fried right now. But if Soto isn't returning to the Bronx in 2025, the Yankees could ramp up their efforts to add another ace in short order.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for On SI. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee. You can follow him on X: @GrvntYoung

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