YANKEES MAKE ANOTHER PITCH AT A BLAKE SNELL TRADE!

Let the Blake Snell speculation and rumors return again! It's the name that never goes away. The Yankees pursued him during the winter and now they are doing it again. They are desperate to improve their roster to make a playoff run and I guess old habits die hard when it comes to Snell.

According to Jon Heyman, the Yankees and five other teams have called the Giants to talk trade. Timing is everything, and the Giants are loving the position they are in right now. Seriously, they are 4.5 games out of the final NL Wild Card spot and have options to weigh before Tuesday's trade deadline. If they think they can make a run at the postseason they can hold onto him. Or, if they want to retool for next season they can trade him to the highest bidder.

Snell has turned the corner in July, so again timing is everything. This month, he has given up two runs in 24 innings with 30 strikeouts. His best start was on Saturday where he pitched 6 innings, only allowed two hits and two walks and struck out 15. Before July, his season looked like a dud with ten total starts after being plagued with injuries. His 5.1 ERA isn't impressive, but if Snell is starting to settle in after not having a typical Spring, that number could change even more.

It's not a secret, the Yankee rotation needs a lot of help. Marcus Stroman, Nestor Cortes and Carlos Rodon overachieved early on and aren't getting hte job done. But do the Yankees really think Snell will? I am not convinced. The Yankees made a 6-year $150 million offer over the winter and weren't willing to go higher. They didn't need to outbid themselves, and Snell ended up settling for a 2-year $62 million contract with an opt out after this season. The Yankees weren't willing to go higher when it would've only cost a financial obligation.

I say "only" because even though the price tag is hefty, it's nothing for the New York Yankees. Now if the Yankees want Snell, they take on the rest of his contract and have to give up more prospects. The Yankees weren't willing to go higher with money, why would they give up more of the farm for what is likely to be a short-term rental? I just don't see it.

And maybe because there is nothing to see. The Yankees are good at driving up price tags, and I think this is what they could be doing here. Snell isn't as good NOW as he was in the winter when they passed on overpaying for him the first time. 

Time will tell what happens, but I am not betting on Snell coming to the Bronx... and I won't lose any sleep over it either.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj