As continues to linger in free agency, speculation regarding him and the Yankees persists. The Yanks reportedly offered the lefty five years and $150MM before pivoting to sign on a two-year deal last month. Since then, its been reported that the Yankees , though the shape of that offer is presumably different after signing Stroman and pushing themselves into the top tier of luxury-tax penalization in the proce s. Whatever is presently on the table doesnt appear to be a take it or leave it type of offer, that the Yankees and Snell talked about various contract parameters as recently as yesterday. Notably, Heyman writes that agent Scott Boras has suggested the po sibility of a shorter-term deal with higher annual salaries and opt-out opportunities. Thatd be a pivot from Snell seeking maximum guarantees, as has been the case throughout the winter. Its also not a concept that works well with a team in the Yankees situation. The Yankees are a third-time luxury tax payor who are in the top tier of penalization. Any additional spending at this point will be taxed at 110%. And since the luxury tax is based on a contracts average annual value, theres no skirting the i sue by backloading a deal. In that sense, dialing up the contracts AAV only further penalizes the Yankees. The taxes are only part of the i sue. New York would also be forfeiting its second- and fifth-highest draft selections, as well as $1MM from next years international bonus pool, in order to sign Snell, who rejected a qualifying offer from the Padres. A longer-term pact that stretches out an agreed-upon guarantee Babe Herman Jersey while weighing down the AAV would be more sensible. The Yankees took that approach with in free agency a couple years back, when he inked a six-year deal at a time when a contract around four years was widely expected. Theres no indication such an arrangement is currently being discu sed, however, and going longer term on Snell would present the Yankees with its own slate of worrying factors. New York already has , , and under contract through the 2027 season. Each of Cole, Rodon and Judge are on the books through 2028, giving the Yankees $103MM in guaranteed money on the books in a season thats still four years down the road. Add in the $10MM buyout on Stantons 2028 option, and thats $113MM of considerations for that season. Furthermore, theyll very likely wind up tacking an extra year onto Coles contract this coming offseason. The reigning AL Cy Young winner has an opt-out in his contract after the 24 season, but the Yankees can void that by picking up a 2029 club option at $36MM. Thatd give the Yanks $76MM on the books as far down the line as 2029; adding Snell on a long-term deal designed to tamp down his contracts AAV could push them close to or even north of $100MM in commitments a half-decade from the current season. Not only that, but Judge will be 37 that year and Cole will be 38. Snell would be 36. Itd be plenty understandable if the Yankees have some trepidation about locking in $100MM+ in guarantees to three players wholl be 36 or older in 2029. Heyman also notes that the Yankees have some interest in fellow lefty and fellow unsigned Boras client , whom they of course originally drafted and developed. However, the Yankees prefer Snell, and the financial hurdles just laid out regarding Snell applies to Montgomery but on a slightly smaller scale, as he doesnt have quite the earning power of a two-time Cy Young winner. Los Angeles Dodgers Jersey