Major League Baseball’s regular season will begin in less than a month, but this wonky, at times sluggish offseason means that there’s still plenty of Hot Stove business to attend to — and, in turn, rumors to keep track of. Each weekday, we’ll be doing just that, bringing you the latest news, rumors and reports from around MLB. Tuesday’s edition features a couple of interesting items, from the Yankees leaving the door open for Blake Snell to the Rangers weighing whether to hand their top prospect an Opening Day job.
MLB rumor roundup: Wednesday, February 21
Yankees, Snell still talking
It’s now almost March, and Blake Snell — reigning NL Cy Young winner — remains a free agent, as teams around the league continue to balk at his (and agent Scott Boras’) price point. At this point it’s anyone’s guess where the 31-year-old lefty might actually play out the 2024 season, but it appears that we can’t yet rule out the New York Yankees. Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Yankees haven’t closed the door on Snell, despite an earlier report suggesting that they’d shut down negotiations after being too far apart on contract terms.
At the time, it was rumored that New York had offered Snell five years and $150 million — no small sum, of course, but well below what a two-time Cy Young winner would typically command. It’s unlikely that said deal is still on the table, but the two sides could maybe work out a shorter contract with a higher average annual value along the lines of what Cody Bellinger just signed with the Cubs.
Heyman describes the discussions as “just talk without much progress,” so it’s likely this is simply Boras and Brian Cashman keeping a line of communication open rather than swapping terms. And given that the Yankees have pushed themselves over the top luxury-tax threshold, signing Snell even for just two or three years would be an expensive proposition. But these are the New York Yankees we’re talking about, and they have every incentive to continue adding to their rotation ahead of a must-win season. Snell isn’t a perfect player, but he’d certainly help, and the longer this saga drags on, the more likely it becomes that Snell simply plays out one more year and hopes for a better market next winter.
Langford in mix for roster spot with Rangers
Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford is among the top prospects in baseball. The No. 4 pick of last year’s MLB Draft, Langford came to the Rangers as a nearly finished product after starring in the outfield for Florida, then proceeded to tear it up over 44 games in the Minors. It seems like the last hurdle left is the Majors, and sure enough, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that it’s quite possible Langford will crack the Opening Day roster for the reigning World Series champs. Passan writes: “What’s clear is that the Rangers won’t keep Langford down just to keep him down — not with MLB’s rules that award a full year of service time to top rookies and incentivize teams to promote them by giving draft picks.”
The 22-year-old righty slugger is in camp on a non-roster invite, which means he’d need to be added to the 40-man roster in the event he wins a job this spring. The skills, though, may merit such an aggressive step, and Texas does currently have a bit of a hole at DH. Should Langford impress in camp and join the team’s roster for Opening Day, he’d immediately jump up Rookie of the Year and fantasy draft boards.
