The Yankees predicted to poach the two-time Cy Young winner from the Giants for $150 million

On By Littum

The San Francisco Giants have consistently tried to improve their team through free agency over the past few seasons. It just hasn’t worked out in any way.

The most expensive free agents, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, have turned down the Giants. In a separate incident, Carlos Correa’s injuries prompted the Giants to pull the plug on the contract offer he was about to accept. Then the Giants quietly began landing free agents, and it still never paid off.

One of the biggest names the Giants were able to acquire was two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell. The 31-year-old lefty starter signed so late in the offseason that he wasn’t ready for Opening Day and had anything but a normal season from that point forward.

Snell battled through injuries and ineffectiveness in the first half, but as of July, he was the best pitcher in Major League Baseball. That has created a scenario where Snell once again enters the free agent market with a difficult future to predict.

The Giants would love to keep Snell, but they will be up against stiff competition. Cale Ahearn of FOX 43 predicted that Snell would sign with the New York Yankees, who are defending their American League pennant, for five years, $150 million.

“After reportedly having interest in adding Snell last season, I think the Yankees will find a way to get a deal in place for 2025 and beyond,” Ahearn said.

“Snell with New York right-hander Gerrit Cole would instantly give the Yankees one of the best 1-2 punches in baseball. A year after the team made the World Series, that kind of splash and power movement could keep the team in contention next season.”

Snell has only thrown over 130 innings twice in his career, but he won the Cy Young Award both times. The Yankees would be as likely a team as any to bet that Snell still has magic in the tank, given their desperation to win a World Series for the first time since 2009.

The Giants still have Logan Webb to anchor their rotation, so losing Snell wouldn’t leave them completely out in the cold. But it would still be a tough blow to swallow for a team eager to prove it can compete in the brutally competitive National League West.

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