Recently signed to a super club-friendly deal that covers the next five seasons for only $50 million, Blake Snell and the Tampa Bay Rays are built for each other. Effervescently invested and adapted to MLB play, both Snell and the Rays are a match that will excite baseball fans for many years to come.
For a small market franchise, money is always the focal issue; but with this extension, Snell is given that long-term financial backbone, while the team is able to rest easy knowing that their ace of the present and of the future is locked up and they can focus on extending others. The team also recently locked up prospect Brandon Lowe, who has all the tools and moxie to become their starting second baseman very quickly.
Snell was originally selected as the 52nd overall player in the 2011 MLB draft, so he is a homegrown talent for the Rays, exactly what they must hit home runs on if they want to compete. Not being big-time players in the expensive area of the free agency market, the Rays and their front office are forced to rely on their scouting prowess to hoard assets and fill in gaps when seen fit.
For the Rays, Snell was a perfect complement to Chris Archer, who eventually was deemed expendable due to Snell’s emergence into a Cy Young candidate and eventual award winner. Being able to ship Archer out did not mean that this team was packing it in and recouping value through prospects; however, they saw a fit that was being offered to them by the Pittsburgh Pirates, in which they were able to add two top-flight prospects (outfielder Austin Meadows and starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow) to the roster, reset and use these pieces next season.
Glasnow has now filled the role that Snellzilla had when he was emerging for this team, and Snell has moved into the role of staff ace that was once occupied by Archer, a great usage of assets to turn a revolving door into a successful transaction. Coupled with incumbent Charlie Morton staying with the team, and they have three very solid options to throw out there three games of every week.
Seen as a big prospect, Snell had big shoes to fill and did he ever, even in his first season in the big leagues, 2016.
A fast riser through the minor league ranks, Snell made 19 appearances in his first year in the majors, all starts, across 89 solid innings. A 6-8 record, combined with a 3.54 ERA and 98 strikeouts gave Snell a fighting chance going into his first full season with the club in 2017.
His least effective season was his sophomore campaign, but his numbers were still very solid for a pitcher who was going down the road of high expectations in a short timeframe. 2018 was his breakout season, capped off by his Cy Young award.
2018 paved the way for his extension on March 21 of 2019, as he went 21-5 across 31 starts and 180.2 innings. A sparkling 1.89 ERA only was behind Jacob deGrom, who set the league on fire with his fantastic pitching performance throughout the season, which cast a shadow over Snell’s outstanding performance.
Snell is a great example of a leader who leads by actions rather than through words, and his play on the field has more than spoken up for what he wants the team to accomplish. If this team wants to finally get the monkey off of their back and make it back to the playoffs, then they will need to ride Snell there, who seems more than capable of making that happen.
The Rays franchise has seemingly always lived under the shadow of another team, which is perfectly fine for them. Being able to break out and exceed expectations year in and year out helps the franchise understand their role in the league, not try to do too much and rely on their strengths (player development, drafting and scouting) to make a solid team every season.
Snell is THAT guy right now in Florida, and it looks as though he will be that guy for many more seasons to come, much to the job of Rays fans everywhere (if you exist).
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