2x Cy Young winner Blake Snell agrees MASSIVE two-year, $62 million deal with SF Giants
Blake Snell has an opt-out clause in his contract and could leave the team after one season if he wants to.
Blake Snell (Image via Imago)
At long last the answer regarding the future of Blake Snell is finally here. After weeks and months of huge speculation, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner finally has found a new home in the form of the San Francisco Giants.
A few days ago, reports claimed that Blake Snell was drawing “serious interest” from the Houston Astros and was seeking a two-year, $66 million contract. However, the Astros pulled out of the deal which allowed the San Francisco Giants to come in and get the pitcher.
According to reports from Jon Heyman of New York Post, Snell joins the Giants on a two-year, $62 million deal. This deal has the opt-out clause which could see him leave the club after one season.
This deal is reported to have come after the Astros and the New York Yankees, one team who was strongly pursuing him, refused to pay over $30 million in last minute talks. This means that the Bronx Bombers will miss out on another top free agent they had been looking after in the offseason.
Blake Snell’s signing boosts SF Giants’ pitching rotation
It was no secret that Blake Snell was one of the top figures in the free agency market this offseason. Coming after a magnificent season that saw him claim his second Cy Young Award, any team signing him would immediately have boosted their pitching rotation. This has happened with the San Francisco Giants as well.
Blake Snell (Image via Imago)
Snell will immediately sort in and could form a formidable 1-2 partnership with Giants “ace” Logan Webb. This signing off him also takes pressure off young pitcher Kyle Harrison who impressed several people with his performances last season.
Apart from that, the Giants also added the experience of Robbie Ray, another former Cy Young award winner in the rotation. Meanwhile, veteran right-hander Alex Cobb could make a return to this setting before the All-Star break after undergoing a hip surgery.
How well will this pitching rotation work out at the end of the season is something that cannot be assessed at the moment. However, the addition of Snell does give the team the confidence to go out there and compete in the NL West alongside their rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While the SF Giants line-up may look pale in comparison to the star-studded lineup of their Californian rivals, they too have signed some big names. The addition of South Korean superstar Jung-Hoo Lee, Jorge Soler and Matt Chapman gives them the offensive power which they seemed to lack in the 2023 season.
