The Los Angeles Dodgers sent shockwaves across the baseball world on Tuesday night when it was announced that the team had agreed to terms with two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell on a five-year, $182 million contract. It’s a big statement of intent from the reigning World Series champions and a blow to the many other teams hoping to compete in 2025 and looking to improve their rotation over the winter.

One of these teams is the New York Yankees. With Gerrit Cole not getting any younger (and dealing with an elbow injury for most of the 2024 season), Carlos Rodon proving very difficult to trust, and a ton of question marks surrounding it, it’s no wonder Brian Cashman is reportedly in close proximity Every major game has had namesakes on the market, from Snell to Max Fried to Corbin Burnes. At first glance, having Snell taken away from them by the team that embarrassed them in October seems like a huge blow.

However, it doesn’t seem like the Yankees had much interest in engaging in a bidding war with LA, at least if a recent report is to be believed.

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According to New York Post MLB insider Jon Heyman, the Yankees had a virtual meeting with Snell on Tuesday afternoon. We don’t know exactly what was discussed in the phone call, but whatever it was, it must have convinced Snell and agent Scott Boras that New York wouldn’t come close to matching the Dodgers’ offer. Because just a few hours later, the leftist had agreed to a deal with LA

Of course, some caveats apply here. Whoever Heyman’s source is, it almost certainly comes from the Yankees side; Snell’s camp probably wouldn’t be interested in leaking such a detail. And it could be that New York is simply doing damage control and trying to avoid the impression that Brian Cashman has missed a desired target. However, if true, it would certainly cast Snell’s signing in a different light and raise some serious questions about how motivated the Yankees are this offseason.

For several years, Cashman has been all too willing to avoid a bidding war when the price became too high for his liking – he watched stars like Manny Machado, Bryce Harper and others go elsewhere. Five years and $182 million is certainly a high price for Snell, who will soon be 32 and hasn’t exactly been the most durable or consistent pitcher in the world. It’s easy to argue that New York is better off letting Snell go and focusing its attention on Fried or Burnes (or several pitchers like Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler).

You can also easily argue that this is further evidence that the Yankees are unwilling to compete with the Dodgers, screaming luxury tax and insisting on financial flexibility despite being one of the league’s two most resource-rich franchises. Cashman has the right to forego Snell, but if that is indeed the case, he should have something better soon.