Yankees Potential Free Agency Target Predicted to Sign With Heated Rival

The New York Yankees could compete with their biggest rival in signing one of baseball's best free agent pitchers.

Jun 22, 2018; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A general view of New York Yankees hat and glove laying in the dugout at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

In a November 6 article, the New York Post's Jon Heyman detailed that the New York Yankees are inquiring about some of the aces available in free agency.

"The Yankees checked on the free-agent ace pitchers — Max Fried, Corbin Burnes and Blake Snell — but it remains uncertain whether they would do Soto and an ace pitcher, too," Heyman wrote.

New York's aggression in pursuing any of these three elite arms will almost certainly depend on whether Juan Soto re-signs with them. But if none of these pitchers end up in pinstripes, Yankees fans will surely prefer they don't join another AL East team, especially their arch-rival Boston Red Sox.

However, that's exactly what Bleacher Report's Erik Beaston predicted for Blake Snell in a November 24 article.

"The Red Sox had the seventh-best team ERA among starting pitchers in 2024 at .381, so there is an argument to be made that the team doesn't need a high-priced starter as much as it needs an upgrade at other positions," Beaston wrote.

"With the AL East featuring electric offenses in New York and Baltimore, and Toronto and Tampa expected to get better in the offseason, it makes sense that Boston would want to bolster its rotation to combat them.

"With Morosi telling MLB Network that the Dodgers and Orioles are favorites for Burnes, it would leave Snell and Fried as the most likely options for Boston," he continued.

"Snell and his 3.12 ERA, 145 strikeouts, and 1.05 WHIP would be a nice fit in Beantown and the two-time Cy Young winner would have an opportunity to show off against some of the most dangerous bats in the American League," Beaston concluded before predicting that Snell would sign with the Red Sox.

Snell spent the first five seasons of his MLB tenure with the Tampa Bay Rays and has a 4-6 record with a 4.39 ERA and 99 strikeouts against the Yankees in his career.

Time will tell where Snell ends up.