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'When there is frequent lightning, there is thunder.'

Free agent left-hander Blake Snell has been hired by the New York Yankees. Rumors of Snell's contract with the Yankees have been circulating for more than a month.

However, as USA Today's Bob Nightingale reported on the 19th that the New York Yankees are "seriously interested" in Snell, the contract may become a reality. There are rumors of a short-term contract, but Scott Boras is unlikely to negotiate with Snell, who has won two Cy Young Awards and is still the biggest fish in the free agent market.

John Hayman of the New York Post reported that the Yankees will surpass the six-year, 162 million-dollar contract signed with left-hander Carlos Rodón last year. Rodón has significantly increased the value of his free agent. He is different from Snell. Rodón became a free agent after his contract with three wins and eight losses with a 6.85 ERA in 14 games last year.

The Yankees signed two free agent starters this offseason. Former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Luke Weaver signed a one-year, $2 million contract, and former Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman signed a two-year, $37 million contract.

Currently, starting rotation options include Cy Young ace Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Nesto Cortez, Clark Schmidt, and Luke Weaver. If Rodon performed as well as expected last year, the rotation will be stable due to Stroman's joining. However, he should open the lid as he maintains an average earned run of six points.

Another factor was the fact that Baltimore regained the AL East title for the first time in nine years and strengthened its ace team last year. Corbin Burns, second starting pitcher of the MLB after Gerrit Cole, was acquired through a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. His commitment is to advance to the World Series as well. Even though the Yankees produced the Cy Young Award winner for the first time in the team's history, they failed to advance to the postseason.

It is true that rumors are rampant that the Yankees will recruit Snell. The problem is annual salary. Yankees currently rank No. 1 in team salary with 209.54 million dollars. Until 2024, only six players will be paid more than 20 million dollars a year.

Outfielder Aaron Judge is worth 40 million dollars, ace Gerrit Cole is worth 36 million dollars, designated hitter John Carlo Stanton is worth 32 million dollars, outfielder Juan Soto is worth 31 million dollars, left-hander Carlos Rodón is worth 27.8 million dollars, and first baseman Anthony Rizzo is worth 20 million dollars. Right-hander Stroman is also worth 18.5 million dollars.

Snell is also likely to earn more than 30 million dollars a year. The Los Angeles Dodgers, which invested an astronomical 1.1 billion dollars in the offseason, also has second baseman Mookie Betts with an annual salary of 30 million dollars in 2024 due to late payment from Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.