SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Blake Snell, a left-hander, is now a free agent after exercising the opt-out clause in his contract. Among those who broke the story on X was Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic.
The news comes as no surprise. Even though Snell was coming off a Cy Young performance in 2023, he was a free agent a year ago and was unable to secure the contract he was looking for.
In the end, he agreed to a two-year contract with a $62 million guarantee with the Giants. This included a $15 million salary and a $17 million signing bonus for 2024, with a $30 million salary for 2025 if Snell remained.
If Snell could maintain his health and have another successful season in 2024, the opt-out after the first year was obviously intended to offer him another chance at free agency.
His second injury, this time for a left groin strain and the first for a left adductor strain, put him on the disabled list at the end of June. In the six starts he managed to make, his earned run average was 9.51.
However, he returned soon after and dominated the remainder of the way. In his last 14 starts of the season, he recorded an ERA of 1.23. Although he struck out 38.1% of hitters he faced, his 10% walk rate was a little excessive. Despite a few injury absences over the years, Snell has consistently shown that he is among the world's top pitchers when he is on the mound.
His 3.03 ERA and 32.1% strikeout rate from 2018 to the present rank in the top 10 among eligible starters during that time frame. Only Tarik Skubal has a lower ERA than Snell's 2.57 among pitchers who have pitched at least 250 innings in the last two years. During that period, Snell's strikeout percentage of 32.7% is second best, just behind Tyler Glasnow's rate of 32.8%.
It was generally anticipated that Snell would return to free agency in the hopes of discovering a more healthy market this time around, especially after his exceptional performance. He will be among the best starting pitchers available, along with Jack Flaherty, Max Fried, and Corbin Burnes. Snell is leaving $30 million on the table, but he should be able to outbid that amount with some sort of nine-figure agreement.
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