The New York Yankees should be one of the top teams in the American League in 2024 but have a tough decision to make.

New York will be without the services of 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole for at least one or two months. Cole underwent an MRI on his pitching elbow this past week and now will miss time.

The Yankees still are loaded with talent and should be able to stay above water until Cole returns, but there has been plenty of speculation that the club could look to make an addition.

One player who is seen as one of the top options to replace Cole is two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.

“The first two-time Cy Young winner whose free agency lasted into mid-March, Snell represents the best hope to replicate Cole,” Heyman said. “He was easily the best starter the final five months of 2023, posting a 1.20 ERA from May 25 on (exactly twice as good as Kyle Bradish’s 2.40 mark).

“Some former teammates suggest Snell would prefer the West Coast, but the real issue is that the Yankees are over the fourth-tier Steve Cohen tax threshold and would need to pay 110 percent tax, meaning a $30M salary would bring a $33M tax bill.”

Snell has been mentioned as an option for the Yankees on numerous occasions. A deal would make a lot of sense baseball-wise, but the price tag likely will be too high for New York.

It would be great to see Snell in New York in 2024 and he likely would be the easiest replacement for Cole, but a deal is unlikely.