Spring training

Spring training is just around the corner, but who will be the final winner?

The 2024 Major League Spring Camp, where pitchers and catchers enter first, is about 10 days away. However, the destination of Blake Snell, who was considered one of the biggest free agent pitchers this winter, is still unknown.

To make matters worse, Baltimore, which had been considered as Snell's next destination, completed a blockbuster trade to acquire right-handed pitcher Corbin Burns (30) from Milwaukee on the 2nd (Korean time).

Burns, who debuted in the major leagues in 2018, achieved good results, posting double-digit wins for three consecutive years until last year. In particular, in the 2021 season, he posted a record of 11 wins, 5 losses, and an ERA of 2.43, and won the Cy Young Award, given to the best pitcher in the National League that year. He was also selected as an All-Star three times.

Last year, Burns not only recorded a season record of 10 wins, 8 losses, and an ERA of 3.39, but he also pitched a total of 193.2 innings, blocking an average of 6 innings per game. This means that he has fully fulfilled the role of inning eater required of a starting pitcher.

In this situation, the American daily New York Post diagnosed on the 2nd (Korean time), "With Baltimore recruiting Milwaukee ace Burns, the number of places for Snell to go has decreased." Baltimore was a team that had been consistently mentioned as Snell's next destination.

When the 2023-24 Major League Baseball free agent market opened, I had no idea that news of Snell's contract would not come out for such a long time. Snell, who won the National League Cy Young Award last year, was expected to receive calls from many teams due to the premium of being a left-handed pitcher.

However, when the market opened, expectations turned out differently. The Major League Baseball website (MLB.com) recently reported somewhat shocking information, saying, "So far, the only team that has offered to sign Snell is the New York Yankees."

According to the media, "The New York Yankees offered Snell a six-year contract worth $150 million (about KRW 197.3 billion), but it was rejected," and "Snell offered an even larger 9-year contract worth $270 million (about KRW 386 billion). “I asked for it,” he said.

Snell cheerfully rejected the offer from the New York Yankees and is waiting for a better offer. However, it appears that the market atmosphere is not going as desired yet.

Snell, from Washington state, USA, entered the professional ranks after being selected by Tampa Bay with the 52nd overall pick in the first round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft when he was a senior in high school. He debuted in the Major League in 2016 and posted outstanding results in the 2018 season with 21 wins, 5 losses, and an average ERA of 1.89. Of course, the Cy Young Award, given to the best pitcher in the American League that year, was his.

However, after being traded to San Diego in 2021, he failed to show his old form, only achieving single-digit wins (7 wins -8 wins) in two consecutive seasons. Injury was the cause. However, he succeeded in rebounding last season, ahead of free agency, with a record of 14 wins, 9 losses, and an ERA of 3.38.

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