Blake Snell is still without a team for 2024. It is almost laughable that the NL Cy Young Winner is sitting on the couch while the spring training games continue throughout in Florida and Arizona. But in an interesting twist, Snell's former teammate, new Yankee Juan Soto, is all about having Snell join the 2024 team, in fact he has flat out put out the welcome mat.
"New Yankees superstar Juan Soto enthusiastically endorsed the idea of the team signing National League Cy Young winner Blake Snell, which would make the Yankees the first team to combine the two reigning Cy Young winners in one Opening Day rotation," reported The New York Post.
The Yankees are clearly concerned about a number of things when it comes to Snell. One is his salary, next is the luxury tax, third is his consistency and depth and last is how he will be as a veteran in the Yankees clubhouse.
"Snell’s market has been surprisingly quiet despite a superb overall track record that actually includes two Cy Youngs (one more than even Cole, who won the AL award last year for the first time), but Soto wanted to clear up any misperception about Snell’s persona, if that’s what’s holding up his market," reported The Post. “He’s a great dude, he’s a great guy,” Soto said. “He’s always right there, cheering for his teammates. He’s a funny guy, too. He’s great in the clubhouse.”
And Soto is not the only advocate for Snell. In another article published by The Post on Monday, "Superstar, team captain and sometime adviser Aaron Judge spoke hopefully upon arrival about the potential for one more pickup (though Judge didn’t specify who he was talking about or if he had any inside info). “I definitely think there might be another move on the way. But you never know. We’ll see,” Judge said then. While Snell’s name was unsaid, a couple of the big voices in the clubhouse are thought to be endorsers of Snell."
The pitching in the minors is very promising and Hal Steinbrenner seems content with what he is seeing there and in his current starting rotation with the addition of Marcus Stroman. Steinbrenner stated that he believed that Luis Gil and Will Warren will see time in the majors this season and that Clarke Schmidt has come out strong this spring. Signing Snell means Schmidt would be the odd man out in the starting rotation.
Soto says it will be a wait and see kind of game. “I think he’s just waiting for the perfect spot for him,” Soto said. “It is what it is. It happened before, with [Manny] Machado, and with [Bryce] Harper. Those guys signed late, in spring training. They were asking for the money, and they got it,” reported The Post.
It will be an interesting few weeks as the Yankees continue their spring training schedule into late March when the actual season begins. Do the Yankees feel they have what they need in their current pitching staff to pass on Snell? Hard to say but if Soto and Judge were buying, Snell would be headed to Tampa today.
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--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof
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