Could SF Giants lefty Blake Snell be on the move? Jon Heyman of the New York Post confirms that at least five teams have expressed interest in the two-time Cy Young winner.
Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic also reported that Snell is drawing considerable trade interest leading up to the trade deadline. There will be a lot of eyes on Snell when he faces off against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday evening.
It will be Snell’s final start before the trade deadline and it could be his final start with San Francisco as odd as they may be to say. The Giants signed him at the end of spring training and did not have a normal ramp up leading into the season.
This likely influenced his poor start and the fact that he spent much of the first half on the injured list. Overall, the 31-year-old has posted a 5.83 ERA, 3.94 FIP, 1.36 WHIP, 9.9 K/9, and a 2.42 SO/W rate in nine starts with the Giants in 2024.
However, Snell has been much better in his last three starts, allowing just two earned runs with 15 strikeouts and five walks in 18 innings of work. That is the pitcher the Giants were hoping to get and his recent stretch has drawn attention from the rest of baseball.
As Jon Heyman notes, Snell has an opt-out after the first season. That will make trade talks difficult because it is tough for both the Giants and any prospective trade partner to agree to what type of player is being moved. Is he a rental? Will he remain with the club through the 2025 season?
That considerably changes the dynamic for what the Giants could get in return. There is some recent history to weigh. When the New York Mets moved Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers before the 2023 trade deadline, that deal was dependent to some degree on the veteran pitcher exercising his $43 million player option.
That framework is more of the exception than the rule. And, it bears mentioning that Scherzer was entering his age-39 season in 2024. He likely could not have done much better in terms of guaranteed money in free agency given his age.
