It is March already, and the opening day of the MLB 2024 season is on the 28th.
Teams remain free to bolster their rosters, and the free agency market still has much to offer.
Blake Snell is arguably the best remaining free agent right now.
The two-time Cy Young Award last played for the San Diego Padres and became a free agent by November of the 2023 season.
He won his first Cy Young Award in 2018 and the next one last year after leading the majors in walks with 99. He also posted a 14-9 record and 234 strikeouts in 180 innings pitched in 32 starts. He also had the league-best ERA of 2.25 and hits-per-nine-innings (H/9) of 5.8.
So, why is it taking so long for him to get signed?
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It is his contract demand.
His camp insists he should receive around $200 million for his next contract.
"Cy Young winner Blake Snell continues to seek a contract that will pay him at least $240 million, and now awaits to see what team blinks first," USA Today wrote on January 14.
"The New York Yankees made an introductory offer for nearly $100 million less, which was quickly dismissed, before they turned to Marcus Stroman to fill their vacancy with a two-year, $37 million deal."
Who's ready to make an offer?
The Yankees were denied the first time, but they remain hopeful that the 31-year-old pitcher will consider another offer, although it is less than what he wants.
"The Yankees are thinking about it, they're in touch," the New York Post's Heyman reported on February 29.
"They're trying to work on it and we know they made an earlier offer but we don't know the exact offer. It was five years but I don't believe it was for $150 million, I don't have the exact figure."
The San Francisco Giants are believed to be the frontrunners to get Snell's services.
The Bay Area club already signed Matt Chapman to a multi-year deal, but they are still looking for a quality starter in their rotation.
The need became heavier last week after Tristan Beck was diagnosed with an aneurysm on the right arm and will be out for a significant amount of time.
The latest on the Blake Snell-Giants rumor was from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, who revealed that the team signing Chapman has no effect in their chase of the 2023 ERA leader.
"I've confirmed Chapman to the Giants, opt outs each year. And this does *not* mean they are out on Snell. They are still very much in," she wrote on X.
Both the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants did not make the postseason last year, and they are hoping to do better than that after making improvements to their roster.
The Yanks' biggest signing so far is Marcus Stroman, who is already making coach Aaron Boone feel excited.
As for the Giants, they got Jorge Soler and Chapman as they enter a new era.
While they are the frontrunner, an MLB executive said that the Los Angeles Angels are also interested in signing Snell.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today wrote that MLB team executives "widely believe" that the two-time Cy Young winner "will ultimately sign with the Los Angeles Angels or possibly the San Francisco Giants."
Related article: Tristan Beck Injury-Giant Pitcher's Aneurysm in the Arm Is a Rare Case; How Long Will He Be Out?
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