If the rumor mill is to be believed, the Yankees’ offer for Blake Snell is still on the table — and precious few other teams have even dared to entertain a bite. That would make the Yankees both barely involved in active conversations, and … the current favorite?

Every New York-connected insider, from Jon Heyman to Joel Sherman to Andy Martino, spent Monday doing damage control after a few (Scott Boras-led) assertions leaked that indicated the Yankees were making a late push for Snell. Greg Joyce of the New York Post even went as far as to say that the Yankees did not currently have an offer still on the table.

Boras has yet to land any one of his top four clients a new home and, further down the onion, players like JD Martinez remain frozen out as well because of the stagnation at the top of the market. It would make perfect sense for Boras to get the Yankees rumblings going again and, for his part, Brian Cashman played along, confirming he’s not yet reached “pencils down” this offseason. All Boras has to do is call.

Of course, the most important caveat is the Yankees’ current tax situation. If Snell’s market collapses (it has), and he might be interested in seeking a short-term, high-AAV offer, that exorbitant sum could cost the Yankees more than double. They’re taxed at 110% thanks to their current payroll. A two-year, $70 million would cost Hal Steinbrenner more than $70 million this season alone. Not our money, but … does that really sound like something he’d be willing to float?

And yet … the latest rumored offer that Heyman has heard contradicts that notion entirely. If it’d behoove the Yankees to stretch out any potential Snell deal, now more than ever, for tax purposes, then why is the as-yet-unconfirmed offer structured in the exact opposite way?

A backloaded deal makes more sense for the Yankees than a short-term, high-AAV deal. The good news? It makes more sense for Snell, too.

Snell entered this offseason coming off his second Cy Young win, but with a good amount of inconsistency between those two dominant years. This marks what is likely the pitcher’s final chance to cash in with long-term security, and that appears to be what he prizes. If not, why are we all still waiting here?

You’d think the Yankees would prefer a backloaded six-year offer that pushes the bulk of the financial burden past Gerrit Cole’s twilight years. If the rumored offer Heyman is hearing about is legitimate, though, that’s both tough to believe and encouraging. If Steinbrenner is willing to spend that ungodly sum of heavily-taxed Snell cash, then how is there a world where he doesn’t ultimately find a soft place to land with the left-hander?

If money is no obstacle — and, if this offer’s legit, it isn’t — the two parties have too much to gain by meeting in the middle here.