Yankees’ offer to ace was $120 million less than he wants

 

With spring training less than three weeks away, several of the top free agents remain unsigned. Two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, however, could have easily put pen to paper on a new contract and avoided this uncertain future.

According to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale in a story published Jan. 27, “Blake Snell’s lone offer was a six-year, $150 million deal from the New York Yankees after Snell requested $270 million over nine years.”

Snell, 31, is coming off a season with the San Diego Padres in which he posted a 2.25 ERA and 234 strikeouts in 180 innings to capture his second Cy Young.

That the left-hander with a career 3.20 ERA and 11.1 K/9 remains unsigned this deep into the offseason is a surprise but a result of several factors — money, his innings per outing and inconsistency.

For one, Scott Boras is Snell’s agent, and Boras normally drives a hard bargain on behalf of his clients — which seems to be the case here, with the Yankees’ offer short $120 million and three years and Snell lacking any other offers presently. Two, despite Snell’s dominance, he does not pitch deep into games (averaging five-plus innings per start; has pitched 150 innings twice in his career) and he has three 4-plus ERA seasons on his resume.

Around the time the Yankees’ offer to Snell leaked, general manager Brian Cashman landed ground-baller Marcus Stroman for $37 million over two years on a contract that can reach $55 million over three years if Stroman logs 140 innings in 2025, per Nightengale.