After much hounding from their fan base, the New York Yankees have officially added starting pitching help. Though, it is probably not the big name many people had been envisioning. Before the organization agreed to a contract with All-Star right-hander Marcus Stroman, it was turned down by reigning National League Cy Young Blake Snell.

The reason? “Source familiar with the situation just told me the Yankees offer was $30M a year, 5-year deal $150M Total money,” MLB insider Mike Rodriguez posted on X Thursday night. “But Snell rejected because he wants more money or one more year.”

Haggling for contract value should be expected in free agency, especially from Scott Boras clients. The left-hander just led baseball in ERA and earned his second career Cy Young, so naturally he is going to push teams hard at the negotiation table. But Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is not budging.

He adjusted and scooped up Marcus Stroman following the rejection. New York desperately needed to add another arm to its starting rotation, with so many questions lurking behind American League Cy Young Gerrit Cole. Stroman is a wild card himself, but ownership is already investing copious sums of money in its roster.

In the midst of all this madness, the Yankees locked up Juan Soto for the 2024 season with a one-year deal for $31 million. The expectation is that they will make a long-term commitment to the 2019 World Series champion after trading a good chunk of assets for him this past December. That means caution might be exercised the rest of MLB free agency this winter.

And so, Blake Snell remains a high-end commodity on the open market. Fans will firmly remember this day if he signs with another team, as is now to be expected. But it remains to be seen how exactly they will remember it.