March 19: Snell signed a two-year contract with the Giants
Less than 10 days before Opening Day, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner has found a landing spot. On March 19, the Giants signed Snell to a two-year, $62 million contract with an opt-out after the first year. Snell will make $15 million in 2024, plus a $17 million signing bonus. The left-hander will make $30 million in 2025, with $15 million deferred to 2027. The deal was first reported on March 18 by MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman.
The Giants have finalized Snell signed a two-year contract, $62M
GOODYEAR, Ariz. — The wait is over. Blake Snell is going to San Francisco.
The Giants signed the National League Cy Young Award winner to a two-year and Snell signed a two-year contract with the Giants , $62 million contract, the club announced Tuesday night. The agreement includes an opt-out after the 2024 season. Blake Snell will make $15 million in 2024 with a $17 million signing bonus payable on January 15, 2026. He will earn $30 million in 2025, with $15 million belated and paid on July 1, 2027.
Snell signed a two-year contract with the Giants in 2024
Because Snell declined a qualifying offer from the Padres, the Giants will lose their third-round draft pick in 2024, as well as $500,000 from their international bonus pool for the upcoming signing period. San Francisco has already given up a second-round pick after signing Matt Chapman, who also declined a qualifying offer.
Snell will join Chapman, Jung Hu Lee, Jorge Soler and Jordan Hicks as the Giants’ big-ticket free agents, and he arrives with less than a week left in spring training, placing a bow on a busy offseason for the Giants.
The 31-year-old Snell will be reunited with manager Bob Melvin, who was hired by the Giants in October after two years with the Padres.
Snell signed a two-year contract could push Giants into postseason in ’24
The Giants will now play with the top two finishers in the 2023 NL Cy Young voting — Snell and Logan Webb — leading their rotation. Snell will provide more experience and stability to a staff that includes Kyle Harrison, the top left-handed pitching prospect according to MLB Pipeline and Hicks.
“That’s a guy I’ve been watching for sure,” Harrison said after the Giants’ 4-2 win over the Reds at Goodyear Ballpark. “Watching baseball, coming up, I’m so excited for him to be here.”
The Giants could have one of the best revolution in the second half of the season if both Robbie Ray (Tommy John surgery) and Alex Cobb (left hip surgery) are fully healthy.
Just before hitting the free-agency market, Snell had the most successful season by a pitcher last season.
He led the NL majors with a 2.25 ERA and 6.0 BWAR in 180 innings. From a purely run defense standpoint, Snell was the best inning-per-inning starting pitcher in 2023. What was interesting was that he reached his production, mostly based on his elite swing-and-miss stuff, an MLB-leading 99 walks with runners in scoring position and historically great numbers.
Snell signed a two-year contract with the Giants
Snell was virtually improbable to catch in 2023, as evidenced by his 234 strikeouts in 180 innings. His 37.4% whiff rate was the second highest of any starting pitcher (minimum 150 innings) in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008) behind only Spencer Strider’s 23 seasons (38.6%).
While Snell’s mid-90s hitter was impressive in its own right, it was his secondary pitch that did the heavy lifting in ’23. 51.7% of his swings resulted in whiffs against his slider, curveball and changeup.
Just as impressive was his ability to throw a league-worst strikeout. Snell led the majors with a 13.3% walk rate, due in part to the “good vs. bad walk” approach with the Padres.
Snell holds opponents to a .470 OPS with runners in scoring position, the lowest of any starting pitcher. While one might write it off as a fluke, Snell led the majors with a .374 OPS during his Cy Young Award-winning season with RISP in 2018 — the third-bottom figure in a single season by an AL/NL starter.
With Snell now in the mix, Mason Black (the Giants’ No. 8 prospect) will likely head to Triple-A Sacramento to start the season. Black was in contention for the No. 5 spot in the rotation.
Snell was selected 52nd overall in the 2011 draft by the Rays, with whom he spent the first five seasons of his big league career. He was traded to San Diego in December 2020, where he played three seasons before electing free agency in ’23.