Blake Snell’s $270 Million Asking Price Scared Yankees & Giants Away: Report

Starting pitcher Blake Snell had new hardware—his second Cy Young Award—when he declared for MLB free agency in November. The left-hander still hasn’t found a place for 2024 and beyond, despite those honors.

It could be related to his asking price during contract negotiations.

MLB Trade Rumors projected on November 6 that Snell would sign a $200 million, seven-year contract. According to a January 13 article by Bill Maddon of the New York Daily News, the 31-year-old’s representatives are presently requesting $270 million over nine years.

This winter, Snell has been connected to both the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants at various points. As late as December 14, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that San Francisco was even considered a favorite for the southpaw. But they were compelled to search elsewhere for rotation upgrades as they would not budge from this asking amount.

Jordan Hicks and the Giants reached a four-year, $44 million agreement on January 12, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan revealed. They also intend to get him back into the rotation after his time in the bullpen. On January 11, the Yankees decided to sign Marcus Stroman for a two-year contract worth $37 million after their reported five-year, $150 million offer to Snell was turned down.

Which Teams Are Currently in on Snell?

As soon as Hicks’ contract with the Giants became public, Bob Nightengale of USA Today said what was evident. According to him, they will almost certainly not be able to pursue Snell after moving from San Francisco. Snell’s projected market of potential suitors has diminished as a result of the Giants and Yankees choosing more affordable alternatives.

On January 12, however, Nightengale mentioned in his very next post on X (previously Twitter) that there is still a market for Snell. Although Blake Snell, the Cy Young winner, has received little attention from the public, he still has several contending teams showing a lot of interest, he said. “With spring training only five weeks away, the free-agent market should start to pick up.”

The Los Angeles Angels are one team that has remained associated with Snell, according to MLB.com. Though things could change rapidly, it doesn’t appear like they have any real public competition for the left-hander’s services. Who the “multiple contending teams” are to which Nightengale alludes is unknown to us. However, there has to be hope that someone will finally pay Snell’s exorbitant asking price.

The Starting Rotation Market Is Still Crowded

Shōta Imanaga just signed a four-year, $53 million contract with the Chicago Cubs to cap off his free agency quest. However, there is still another left-handed pitcher at the top of the starting rotation market in addition to Snell.

That’s Jordan Montgomery, a client of Scott Boras as well. Montgomery is expected to eventually re-sign with the Texas Rangers, at least for the duration of this winter. Even with interest from other organizations — like the Yankees — returning back to Texas is reported to be his primary choice.

Nightengale’s own report from January 14th confirmed this once more. It appears that he will eventually rejoin the team he recently won a World Series with in 2023. Snell can’t be gaining any special traction with possible suitors by staying on the market, though.

It’s difficult to imagine a team spending $270 million and nine years to acquire Snell. However, sometimes all it takes is one team to close a transaction. Boras has experience allowing a client’s free agency to linger into January and sometimes even February in order to secure the ideal contract. We’ll see how long this continues to go.