Does Gerrit Cole Know Something? Fishy (Awkward) Blake Snell Pairing Fuels Yankees Signing Buzz

The 99th New York Baseball Writers’ Dinner was held on January 27, 2024. Featuring some of the biggest stars of the game, New York was ablaze with pride and pomp. It’s where one sees the big leagues’ MVPs, Cy Young winners, the Managers of the Year, and the Jackie Robinson Rookies of the Year winners from each league. But this esteemed gala event turned somewhat awkward between a pair of pitchers, one of whom is from the Yankees. 

The New York Yankees ace, Gerrit Cole and free agent Blake Snell who are both Cy Young Award winners of 2023, were at the venue to pick their hardware up. But amid the intense talks of pitcher acquisition and Snell’s free agency linked to the Yankees, their seating arrangement hinted at something. It could either be a sign of something meaningful or the guy in charge of seating charts was just having some fun. 

Decoding Gerrit Cole and Blake Snell’s Seating Arrangement 

Bryan Hoch in his latest tweet shared, “Gerrit Cole said that he found it amusing that he was seated next to Blake Snell the whole night at the BBWAA dinner. ‘Who got a hold of this seating chart?’” With that, it is impossible to rule out that Cole knows something. If guesses are true, then perhaps ‘Cole Train’ found it amusing that he and Snell would go from table-mates to teammates real quick. 

While speculations about the Yanks approaching the 31-year-old pitcher is not awry, there is no definitive statement from either parties. To add to the case, Snell received recommendations from a couple of influential Bronx Bombers. New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported this week that Gerrit Cole and captain Aaron Judge recommended the signing of the southpaw.

Until this point this off-season, the Yankees are the only franchise which made an official contract offer to the reigning NL Cy Young winner of 2023. Despite it being a big enough offer, Snell reportedly declined. As per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com “Many believe Snell is seeking a deal worth more than $200 million after winning his second Cy Young Award, a figure that hasn’t been out there to this point in the offseason.” 

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Will Blake Snell Land In the New York Yankees?

As one of the hottest free agents yet to be acquired, the former San Diego Padres star takes pride in topping his 2018 Cy Young season. He dons impressive stats of 2.25 ERA and 234 Ks. This year he recorded a a league-best 1.18 WHIP, not to mention his 32 starts. Despite these impressive stats, he has struggled with walks in 2023 inducing some hesitation among suitors about his asking price.  

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$150 million has been the guesstimated price tag for Snell. But his demand for $200 million deal might put off the interest of teams potentially interested in him. Yet, with aces being scarce in the market, it’s possible that a team (maybe the Yankees) will be willing to break the bank. One can’t tell fore sure, but Gerrit Cole might!