It sure sounds like the Yankees never had Blake Snell very high on their wish list

The Los Angeles Dodgers sent shockwaves around the baseball world on Tuesday night, when word broke that the team had reached an agreement with two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell on a five-year, $182 million deal. It's a huge statement of intent from the reigning World Series champions, and a tough blow for the many other teams hoping to contend in 2025 who were hoping to upgrade their rotation over the winter.

One of those teams is the New York Yankees. With Gerrit Cole not getting any younger (and battling an elbow injury for much of the 2024 season), Carlos Rodon proving very tough to trust and plenty of question marks behind them, it's no wonder that Brian Cashman was reportedly in on just about every big-name starter on the market, from Snell to Max Fried to Corbin Burnes. On its face, Snell getting snatched out from under them — by the team who embarrassed them in October, no less — would seem to be a huge blow.

Except it doesn't seem like the Yankees had much interest in getting into a bidding war with L.A., at least if one recent report is to be believed.

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Blake Snell signs with Dodgers hours after meeting with Yankees

According to New York Post MLB insider Jon Heyman, the Yankees had a virtual meeting with Snell on Tuesday afternoon. We don't know exactly what was discussed on the call, but whatever it was, it must have left Snell and agent Scott Boras convinced that New York wasn't going to come close to matching the Dodgers' offer. Because just a few hours later, the lefty had agreed to a deal with L.A.

Some caveats apply here, of course. Whoever Heyman's source is, it's almost certainly coming from the Yankees side of things; Snell's camp would likely have no interest in leaking a detail like this. And it could be the case that New York is simply engaging in damage control, trying to avoid the impression that Brian Cashman missed out on a desired target. If true, though, this would certainly paint the Snell signing in a different light, and raise some serious questions about just how motivated the Yankees are this offseason.

For several years now, Cashman has been all too willing to walk away from a bidding war when the price got too rich for his liking — watching stars like Manny Machado, Bryce Harper and others go elsewhere. Five years and $182 million is certainly a hefty price to pay for Snell, who's about to turn 32 years old and hasn't exactly been the most durable or consistent pitcher in the world. You can easily make the argumentt that New York is better off letting Snell go and turning its attention to Fried or Burnes (or multiple pitchers, like Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler).

You can also easily make the argument that this is yet more evidence of the Yankees' unwillingness to compete with the Dodgers, crying luxury tax and insisting on financial flexibility despite being one of the two most resource-rich franchises in the league. Cashman is within his rights to pass on Snell, but if that is indeed what happens, he better have something better coming soon.