Breaking: 31 year-old rejects Yankees $150 million deal offer

With spring training less than three weeks away, several of the top free agents remain unsigned. Two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, however, could have easily put pen to paper on a new contract and avoided this uncertain future.

According to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale in a story published Jan. 27, “Blake Snell’s lone offer was a six-year, $150 million deal from the New York Yankees after Snell requested $270 million over nine years.”

Snell, 31, is coming off a season with the San Diego Padres in which he posted a 2.25 ERA and 234 strikeouts in 180 innings to capture his second Cy Young.

That the left-hander with a career 3.20 ERA and 11.1 K/9 remains unsigned this deep into the offseason is a surprise but a result of several factors — money, his innings per outing and inconsistency.

For one, Scott Boras is Snell’s agent, and Boras normally drives a hard bargain on behalf of his clients — which seems to be the case here, with the Yankees’ offer short $120 million and three years and Snell lacking any other offers presently. Two, despite Snell’s dominance, he does not pitch deep into games (averaging five-plus innings per start; has pitched 150 innings twice in his career) and he has three 4-plus ERA seasons on his resume.

Around the time the Yankees’ offer to Snell leaked, general manager Brian Cashman landed ground-baller Marcus Stroman for $37 million over two years on a contract that can reach $55 million over three years if Stroman logs 140 innings in 2025, per Nightengale.

 

 

 

Yankees claim lefty Matt Gage off waivers from Astros

Left-hander Matt Gage was claimed by the New York Yankees off waivers from the Houston Astros on Monday.

The 30-year-old had a 2.70 ERA in five big league relief appearances and went 1-1 with a 4.58 ERA in 34 games at Triple-A Sugar Land last season. He is 0-1 with a 1.83 ERA in 16 big league relief appearances over two seasons that included time with Toronto in 2022.

Gage was designated for assignment on Jan. 22 when Houston needed a roster spot to finalize its $95 million, five-year contract with All-Star closer Josh Hader.

New York designated infielder/outfielder Diego Castillo for assignment. Castillo was claimed off waivers Jan. 19 from the Mets, who had claimed him from Arizona on Jan. 5.

 

Angels, OF Aaron Hicks agree to deal; Yankees on hook for $19M

The Los Angeles Angels agreed to terms on a one-year contract with veteran outfielder Aaron Hicks on Monday, adding him to an outfield mix that includes Mike Trout, Taylor Ward, Mickey Moniak and Jo Adell.

Hicks is still under the seven-year, $70 million contract he originally signed with the New York Yankees, which extends through the 2025 season. The deal pays Hicks $9.5 million in 2024 and $9.5 million in 2025 and includes a $1 million buyout for a club option in 2026. The Yankees are still responsible for all of it minus the major league minimum of $740,000 the Angels will pay him in 2024.

Hicks, 34, was released by the Yankees after slashing just .188/.263/.261 through the first two months of the 2023 season but improved dramatically upon joining the division-rival Baltimore Orioles, his slash line jumping to .275/.381/.425 over the remaining 65 games. Hicks’ best stretch came from 2017 to 2020, during which he carried an .819 OPS while accumulating 60 home runs and 8.7 FanGraphs wins above replacement in 338 games.

Hicks is a switch-hitter who has played mostly center field, but he also has plenty of experience at both outfield corners. His addition could free up a path for the Angels to use one of their other outfielders to acquire a starting pitcher or an impact bat via trade, but he also serves as critical depth given the questions surrounding Adell’s development.

Hicks’ presence isn’t expected to prompt Trout to move off center field.

“Mike’s our center fielder,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian said on a video conference with local reporters. “We’ve learned this over the last couple of years, at least since I’ve been here — you need players that can play multiple positions. You don’t know what’s gonna happen. He’s somebody that’s played center; he played center last year for Baltimore in certain instances, obviously a very good team that made the playoffs. He can play right, he can play left, he can really throw, so he’s somebody that can help us in a lot of different ways.”