San Francisco Giants Swoop in to Sign Reigning NL Cy Young Blake Snell
The biggest free agent left on the board has found a new home, courtesy of the San Francisco Giants.
Left-handed pitcher Blake Snell has agreed to a two-year, $62 million contract with the Giants, The New York Post's Jon Heyman reported Monday night. Snell will have a potential opt-out next offseason.
The Houston Astros had been pegged as one of the other contenders in the race for Snell. The New York Yankees had also been connected to Snell, although reports had already started to surface that they had moved on to cheaper alternatives.
According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the Astros and Yankees were unwilling to pay Snell over $30 million a year.
The Giants, on the other hand, apparently had no qualms with shelling out cash for Snell. Per The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser, Snell will have a base salary of $15 million in 2024, plus a $17 million signing bonus payable in January 2026.
A physical exam is expected to take place Tuesday, followed by an introductory press conference on Wednesday.
Snell won the National League Cy Young Award this past season, going 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA, 1.189 WHIP, 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings and a 6.0 WAR as a member of the San Diego Padres.
The Padres traded for Snell in the 2021 offseason, poaching him from the Tampa Bay Rays. Snell won the American League Cy Young Award in 2018 – the same year as his lone All-Star appearance – and he was the Rays' ace on their way to the AL pennant in 2020.
For his career, Snell is 71-55 with a 3.20 ERA, 1.235 WHIP, 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings and a 21.1 WAR.
The 31-year-old southpaw has never missed a full year due to injury, but bumps, bruises and load management have prevented him from ever exceeding 181 innings in any given regular season. Snell's 32 starts in 2023 were a career high, helping him eclipse 130 innings for just the second time in his eight-year MLB career.
The Giants have now capped off one of their splashiest offseasons in franchise history by adding Snell. They had already signed Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee, All-Star designated hitter Jorge Soler, standout third baseman Matt Chapman and flamethrower Jordan Hicks, in addition to smaller moves around the margins.
San Francisco's starting rotation finally has some real balance as well, and it will be even deeper once veterans Alex Cobb and Robbie Ray return from injury. Webb and Snell will serve as co-aces – Webb placed second to Snell in NL Cy Young voting last fall – while Hicks and up-and-comers Kyle Harrison and Keaton Winn are set to round out the group of five for the time being.
FanGraphs now projects the Giants to go 82-80 this season, giving the club a 34.4% chance of reaching the postseason.
Snell was unable to land the long-term megadeal he initially desired, so he and super agent Scott Boras wound up settling for short-term money and future flexibility. Should they see the market as more friendly next winter, Snell could become a free agent again in 2025.
With Snell off the table and the market more concrete, starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery could soon sign a deal of his own, effectively putting a bow on the 2024 MLB offseason.
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