MLB Rumors: Yankees 'Planning an Active January,' Blake Snell Interested in Contract

The New York Yankees missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 campaign, and they will reportedly respond with a notable offseason as they prepare for the 2024 season.

According to Andy Martino of SNY, the American League East team is "planning an active January" and is expected to "make at least one impactful addition to their pitching staff before spring training."

Along those lines, Martino reported Blake Snell is interested in playing for New York and is "more likely" to sign there than former Yankees pitcher and current free agent Jordan Montgomery.

The Yankees already made waves this offseason by trading for Juan Soto, who is under contract for just one more season.

That places plenty of urgency on that one season as the Bronx Bombers look to take advantage of a win-now window. Yet the only way they are going to do that in a difficult AL East is through the addition of more pitching.

Snell has been somewhat overshadowed in the same offseason that saw names like Shohei Ohtani, Soto, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the move, but he is the reigning National League Cy Young winner and someone who can anchor a rotation when he is pitching at his best.

He also took home the 2018 American League Cy Young as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, so he is familiar with pitching in New York's division.

The 31-year-old posted a 2.25 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 234 strikeouts in 180 innings for the San Diego Padres last season. It was the second time he led the league in ERA during his career, with the first coming during his Cy Young season in Tampa when he finished with a 1.89 mark.

He also answered some durability questions by reaching the 180-inning mark for the first time since his 2018 showing.

If the Yankees added him, they wouldn't be as reliant on bounce-back efforts from Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortés and would have one of the best pitchers in the league from last season.