"New York will have competition -- possibly even the rival Boston Red Sox -- but a move makes sense. Snell is in line to win his second Cy Young Award and would form a fearsome duo with Cole. Plus, if New York could land him for the contract Bowden predicted, he would be a steal. The Yankees need to make at least one -- but probably multiple big moves this offseason if they want to get back into World Series contention," reported Sports Illustrated. Please don't rush because the Sox are in the prey too!
I believe the big moves need to start internally, way before they consider Blake Snell. Who are their pitchers anyway? Are the Yankees going to let Michael King into the starting rotation where he belongs? And even if you get a big name pitcher, can they pitch in New York, in the toughest market in baseball? I don't want Blake Snell to be the next Sonny Gray, who by the way can pitch, just not in New York.
According to The Athletic, "The front office will have to get creative to field a competitive team if the payroll will be less than the $277 million payroll from this season. Because of the team’s locked-in commitments, I also don’t see a realistic pathway for the Yankees to field a competitive team if they were to stay under the first luxury tax level. Depth was a major limiting factor for the 2023 Yankees. Slashing payroll by over $40 million in 2024 would only exacerbate that problem."
And if they do go over the payroll, are they keeping people like Clay Holmes and Gleyber Torres who are due for raises? Is anyone concerned about the dugout presence of Aaron Boone, who simply does not seem to have the managerial skills to lead this kind of team that could include veteran Cody Bellinger and young pitchers like Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto? Are they still planning to use analytics over baseball knowledge to field their signature players?
So, Blake Snell is a no for me. New pitching is a yes. Young pitching is a yes. And the Yankees need to use strategies that support the very heart beat, the very being of the team- culture eats strategy for breakfast. Wait before you just buy. Consider who you have, who deserves to be paid and be sure before you go after players. Honestly, why would you want to come to the Yankees in their current state if you could go to a team and contend with strong leadership in your corner? Maybe players should just say no to the Yankees this free agency- now wouldn't that be a statement.
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--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof
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