San Francisco Giants Ace Garnering Interest from New York Yankees

A star San Francisco Giants pitcher is garnering some interest on the trade market, including from the New York Yankees.

Jul 22, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blake Snell (7) delivers to the plate in the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants are a team that many people are keeping an eye on with just two days until the MLB trade deadline. Currently three games under the .500 mark at 52-55, conventional wisdom would be that they should sell.

But, given the current state of the National League, the Giants are reportedly unsure of what to do. San Francisco is only 4.5 games behind the New York Mets for the final Wild Card spot in the NL and are getting healthy at the right time.

Their pitching staff is coming together with Blake Snell finding his form. Robbie Ray is back, and Alex Cobb should be able to contribute to the Major League team soon, providing more insurance behind Logan Webb.

While the Giants may not know what they want to do, that isn’t going to stop teams around the league calling from about their players.

Snell is one of the players who is garnering a ton of interest in the rumor mill.

According to Jon Heyman of The New York Post, at least six teams have shown interest in the ace after he's performed like one of the best pitchers in the league since coming back from the injured list

One of those teams is the New York Yankees.

“The Yankees were among the teams linked to Snell during the offseason but ultimately bowed out of the running. New York could have more interest now that Snell's contract is more palatable, even if it would mean adding to the franchise's luxury tax bill. The Yankees could use some help in their starting rotation, as four of their five regular starters have an ERA over 4. Included in those starters struggling is ace Gerrit Cole, who has not found his rhythm since returning to the rotation last month,” Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report wrote when discussing how real the interest from the Yankees might be.

The two-time Cy Young award winner had a brutal start to his tenure in San Francisco after a frustrating offseason. But since returning from the injured list, he has regained his form and looks like his dominant self.

"He's always been kind of a second-half guy," Giants manager Bob Melvin said. "Last year, when he went on a run like this, not only was it similar to this type of stuff every night that he was either giving up no runs or one run, he was able to pitch out of jams. He was able to get a strikeout with a man on third. It's kind of his forte."

In four July starts, Snell has thrown 24 innings, allowing only eight hits and seven walks, resulting in two earned runs. He has struck out 30, registering a 0.75 ERA.

Trade talks with Snell are complicated because of his contract which has a massive player option worth $30 million in 2025 that he could opt out of and hit the open market.