3 bloated salaries that might stop Yankees from trading for Blake Snell

Adding Blake Snell could give the New York Yankees the sort of starting pitching required to end their World Series drought. Unfortunately, his salary could stop New York from adding the talented southpaw ahead of this year's trade deadline.

At the very least, the Yankees are kicking tires on Snell. His overall numbers for the season are pedestrian at best, but his recent form has been nothing short of scintillating. Striking out 15 batters on Saturday has six teams interested in making a deal for the Giants to bring Snell on board.

Snell is slated to make $30 million next season if he fails to exercise the opt-out in his latest contract. Many teams expect him to do so which would make him an expensive rental ahead of this year's trade deadline. Him exercising the $30 million option might be the worst case outcome for GM Brian Cashman and the Yankees.

As a franchise, New York is trying to thread the needle between building a competent contender around superstar Juan Soto and keeping payroll down to the level that they can re-sign him in the offseason. The presence of these three bloated salaries on the Yankees roster might prevent them from being able to afford a Snell acquisition.

(For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders, and join the discord to get the inside scoop as we near the July 30 MLB trade deadline.)

3. Gleyber Torres

Torres' place in the current lineup is already threatened by the team's decision to add Jazz Chisholm. His bat has shown signs of progress lately but he's never going to be anything more than a below-average defender at second.

That makes his $14.2 million salary a significant overpay for the Yankees this season. He's also slated to hit free agency next year which makes it likely that he will earn a raise. New York can let him walk instead of re-signing him which is the reason that he checks in at number three on this list. He's overpaid but only for the rest of this season.

2. D.J. LeMahieu

LeMahieu has arguably been the worst regular season player in the American League this year. He's only managed 24 hits this year with one home run. Add it all up and he's posted a pathetic -1.0 WAR on the campaign.

It might be safe to price in a slight progression in LeMahieu's performance down the stretch but he looks to be mired in age-related regression. That makes the two additional years left on his current deal at $15 million per season a milestone around the Yankees' salary cap sheet. In a perfect world, Cashman would find a way to offload his salary in the offseason but there won't be any teams interested in paying him such a high salary after such a disappointing season.

1. Carlos Rodon

Rodon is currently playing out the second year of a six-year, $162 million deal he signed with the Yankees in free agency. He missed almost all of his first season with the club due to injury. This year he's provided minimal value with a WAR of 0.7.

His mercurial attitude on the mound doesn't set him up for success on the big stage of MLB's most scrutinized franchise. If the Yankees could get out of his contract without sacrificing an asset this offseason they'd likely jump at the opportunity.

Instead, they're married to him as a member of their starting rotation for years to come. He's currently the team's third-highest earner with a contract on the books for next season. That's too much money tied up in a starting pitcher that isn't a certain member of the team's playoff rotation. Even worse, the money committed to Rodon may stop the Yankees from adding any significant payroll this season or beyond. His bloated salary puts re-signing Soto or trading for Snell in real jeopardy for Cashman and his front office.