Yankees Potential Free Agency Target Expected to Sign with Heated Rival

In a November 6 article, New York Post’s Jon Heyman detailed that the New York Yankees are inquiring about some of the aces available in free agency.

“The Yankees checked on the free-agent ace pitchers — Max Fried, Corbin Burnes and Blake Snell — but it remains uncertain whether they would also do Soto and an ace pitcher,” Heyman wrote.

New York’s aggression in pursuing any of these three elite arms will almost certainly hinge on whether Juan Soto re-signs with them. But if none of those pitchers end up in pinstripes, Yankees fans would certainly prefer that they not join another AL East team, especially their archrival Boston Red Sox.

However, that’s exactly what Bleacher Report’s Erik Beaston predicted for Blake Snell in a Article 24 November.

“The Red Sox had the seventh-best team ERA among starting pitchers in 2024 at .381, so there’s an argument to be made that the team doesn’t need an expensive starter as much as it needs an upgrade at other positions,” Beaston wrote.

“With the AL East featuring electric offenses in New York and Baltimore, and Toronto and Tampa expected to improve in the offseason, it makes sense that Boston would want to bolster its rotation to combat them.

“With Morosi tells MLB Network with the Dodgers and Orioles being favorites for Burnes, that would leave Snell and Fried as the most likely options for Boston,” he continued.

“Snell and his 3.12 ERA, 145 strikeouts and 1.05 WHIP would be a good fit in Beantown, and the two-time Cy Young winner would have an opportunity to prove himself against some of the most dangerous bats in the American League,” Beaston concluded before predicted that Snell would sign with the Red Sox.

Snell spent the first five seasons of his MLB tenure with the Tampa Bay Rays and has a 4-6 record with a 4.39 ERA and 99 strikeouts against the Yankees in his career.

Time will tell where Snell ends up.