Anyone who thinks Blake Snell and the Yankees were a perfect match this winter would’ve enjoyed the eye candy at the Baseball Writers annual banquet in Manhattan Saturday night.
Blake was seated shoulder to shoulder on the dais next to Gerrit Cole. The crowd of almost 900 had visions of the Cy Young Award winners trading in their tuxedos for Pinstripes in Tampa in two weeks.
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The curtain would’ve gone up on Aces 1 and 1-A. It could’ve been the history-making combo the Yankees have been chasing for a decade.
But you know the old proverb: timing is everything.
Had the writers’ dinner been scheduled around New Year’s instead of February’s doorstep, it’s possible Cole could’ve acted as the intermediary between Snell and the Yankees.
In thee three-hour span of dinner, desert, awards and acceptance speeches, Cole could’ve been in Snell’s ear, pitching him on the beauty of rebuilding the Yankees. All that’s missing, Cole could’ve assured Snell, is you.
Nice fantasy – except talks had already evaporated by this past weekend. The Yankees offered Snell $25 million per for six years, he wanted $30 million per for nine. There was no middle ground, with no hope of a reconciliation.
The Yankees’ offer is believed to be off the table. One major source said on Monday, “(Hal) Steinbrenner has moved on (from Snell.)”
Cole was probably aware of the breakdown. He and Snell are, after all, represented by the same agent, Scott Boras. Still, the Bombers’ ace had fun revving up the audience, telling them, “I found it particularly interesting that I was sitting next to Blake all night.”
As the crowd roared in approval, Cole smiled and said, “sorry, that was for all my Yankees fans.”
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There was a similar tease in 2018, when Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, who’d become teammates only weeks before, were paired at the dais. The two…
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