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San Francisco Giants’ starter Blake Snell has had an unusual year. A month ago, there was essentially zero interest around baseball in acquiring the veteran at the MLB trade deadline. But after a red-hot July teams have done a 180 as suddenly adding Snell is considered a genuine needle-mover. Now, it’s the Giants that stand in the way of a trade for the pitcher.
San Francisco’s management is “suggesting for now they are unwilling to pay down Blake Snell’s deal,” according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman on X. The team’s monetary inflexibility could make a Snell trade far more difficult.
Coming off his second career Cy Young Award in 2023, Snell was unable to land the big-money, long-term deal he was seeking. Ultimately a market didn’t materialize and the 31-year-old lefty had to sign a two-year deal with the Giants. He’s making $32 million this season and has a $30 million player option for 2025.
Unfortunately, Snell got off to an absolutely brutal start in 2024. Over the first three months of the season he landed on the 15-day injured list twice, missing time with a left adductor strain in April and then a left groin ailment in June.
Yet it wasn’t the injuries that made for such a miserable campaign early on. Snell, the two-time Cy Young winner and ERA king, was suddenly bad at pitching.
The Giants are limiting Snell trade options with financial stance
In six starts through June 2, Snell posted a 9.51 ERA (ranking 228th among starting pitchers), along with a .304 batting average against (213th), 1.94 WHIP (224th), -1.12 WPA (241st) and -0.1 fWAR (170th). He gave up a ridiculous 25 earned runs in 23.2 innings pitched during that period.
His dominant Cy Young season with the San Diego Padres in 2023 seemed a distant memory. The Giants, well out of contention in the NL West, appeared to be saddled with a $62 million albatross around their necks until 2026.
And then, as quickly as it had all gone to hell, everything changed for Snell. Since returning from his second stint on the IL, the pitcher has been outstanding. He’s surrendered just two earned runs in 24 innings entering play on Monday.
In four starts since July 9, Snell has a sparkling 0.75 ERA (13th best among MLB starters), 30 strikeouts (second), a .104 batting average against (ninth), 0.63 WHIP (13th), 1.05 WPA (third) and 0.8 fWAR (fifth).
Suddenly, the decorated nine-year veteran began to be viewed as a rotation upgrade worth targeting at the trade deadline. A host of teams could look to add Snell including the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Naturally a deal between division rivals San Francisco and Los Angeles would be unlikely. But if the Giants maintain their stance on refusing to contribute to Snell’s remaining salary, they could find themselves with few partners willing to make the trade despite the pitcher's remarkable return to form.
