Blake Snell’s long, hard winter continues, and it appears that there is only one team remotely interested in him at his current valuation of himself.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported over the weekend that the New York Yankees offered Snell a six-year, $150M contract, which he ultimately turned down. Snell is reportedly searching for either a larger average annual value (of at least $30M) or a longer deal.
Feinsand adds that the Yankees’ offer is the only one that has actually been extended to Snell so far.
Snell is setting his asking price very high as the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner (the second Cy Young of his career). But interested teams are not quite willing to meet it, likely due to the risks.
Snell is now 31 years old, doesn’t pitch very deep into games, and is usually shaky in the first several weeks of the season.
While his swing-and-miss stuff is arguably the best in the game, Snell will probably have to come down on his stance some, especially if $25M a year through his age-37 season is not enough for him.
But should he do so, some of Snell’s other big potential suitors could re-enter the fold along with the Yankees.