Surprise Signing: Yankees Are Closing In On A Two-Year Deal To Sign $66 Million Superstar Pitcher

There are still some interesting free agents out there seeking new homes, even though the 2024 season is less than two weeks away.

Even though this offseason has been the strangest in recent memory, some elite free agents are still available. Blake Snell, the two-time Cy Young Award winner, is without a doubt the most shocking player left in the league.

Although Snell has been connected to the New York Yankees, teams haven’t offered him the huge contract he’s been seeking.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports, Snell appears to have altered his mind and is now allegedly amenable to a two-year contract.

“Two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell has informed the Houston Astros that he’s willing to sign a short-term deal to join them, but is seeking at least a two-year guarantee for $66 million, that includes an opt-out after the 2024 season,” stated Nightengale. “According to club officials, the Astros are intrigued, but they are the latest team to object to his asking price.

“The Astros are waiting to see if the price reduces after they started exchanging ideas with agent Scott Boras earlier this week. If the Astros sign Snell, they fear that they will cross the third luxury tax level.”

Unexpectedly, Houston has emerged as a potential suitor in recent days, but the Yankees have been more strongly associated with him. A signing now appears doubtful, but if his asking price continues to decline, things might turn around.

Yankees’ Will Warren impresses with ‘sharp’ audition for rotation spot after rocky start

If everything had gone right on Sunday, Will Warren would have gotten it out of the first inning and shown the Yankees what he was made of.

Warren, a young right-hander, continued to impress while arguing to take Gerrit Cole’s slot in the rotation to start the season, despite the fact that that was his current situation.

Warren was hit in the back in the opening inning of JetBlue Park’s game against the Red Sox, which was probably his penultimate start of the spring.

In addition to giving up some loud contact and making two fielding errors, his defense did not assist as he faced seven hitters and got only one out.

With the Red Sox ahead 5-0 and Warren’s pitch count increasing, Aaron Boone withdrew him. However, spring training regulations permitted Warren to come back for the second inning, when the 24-year-old resumed his work.

Warren made the most of the situation by retiring eight of the next ten batters he faced, seemingly undeterred by the difficult first inning.

Boone remarked, “[In the first inning] was definitely a struggle, but kind of showed us who he was.” The rest of the way, I felt he was really sharp. Unrestricted. In actuality, it’s during moments like this that you discover a little bit more about a guy. He seems incredibly talented to me. He’s pretty good right now, in my opinion.

Knowing that this was Warren’s first start after the Yankees learned of Cole’s elbow injury, which will keep him out of the game until at least the end of May, he could have been rattled by the Red Sox ambushing him in the first inning or by the two errors he made after it.

Instead, he settled into his performance and struck out five while increasing his pitch count to 68. He also displayed the quiet confidence that the Yankees have admired about him.

“I believe it pertains to demonstrating your identity there,” stated Warren, whose most costly error was a hanging slider that Trevor Story hammered for a three-run home run. How do you recover after being struck in the mouth? How do you react to the way the following couple appear, given how awful I thought the first inning was? Ultimately, you have to continue to support your team during the game. That’s what the third and second innings after that showed.

Several team members have expressed their conviction that Warren is prepared to pitch in the major leagues ever since camp opened.

That idea has remained relevant throughout the spring and has gained additional weight now that the Yankees are genuinely in the running for a rotation place.

The other candidates for the fifth starting spot are Luis Gil, Cody Poteet, Luke Weaver, and Clayton Beeter (who gave up three runs in four innings of relief on Sunday while pitching behind Warren).

However, Boone’s remarks regarding Warren prior to and following Sunday’s game sounded a lot like his frequent discussions about Anthony Volpe at this time last year, when the shortstop was vying for a spot on the squad.

Boone stated prior to the game, “I know this is overstating it, but there are times when I feel like, even without even watching a young player who’s maybe not there yet — and it can look a lot of different ways — it’s like, ‘That guy’s a big-leaguer.” “I kind of feel like that with Will. He now has a competitive edge because of the way he approaches things.

Warren handled things well in situations where his pulse rate may rise, according to GM Brian Cashman, who mentioned this on Saturday. Warren also doesn’t become overwhelmed or scared by anything.

Another illustration of it was provided by Warren’s response on Sunday, when he faced the Red Sox for the first time and things went awry in the first inning—albeit in a Grapefruit League game.

“I told him, that’s one of those games you’ll always remember being a Red Sox fan,” Boone remarked. “I anticipate that he will excel. I believe he will make a living playing this game. He may tell folks, “Yeah, I went down and took my lumps down at JetBlue [Park] in the spring,” for example. I was pleased with his response to it. He ultimately completed a lot of excellent work, and we move from there.