San Francisco Giants Sign Blake Snell

The San Francisco Giants have signed left-handed starting pitcher Blake Snell to a two-year, $62MM contract that allows him to opt out after the upcoming season. The Giants add the defending NL Cy Young winner to the top of their rotation that also includes last year’s runner-up, Logan Webb. Many around baseball were shocked that it took Snell this long to ink a deal after winning his second Cy Young Award. He has now won the award in both leagues after finishing 2023 with a 14-9 record and a 2.25 ERA for the Padres. He also won the Cy Young Award as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018.

Blake Snell was drafted by the Rays in the supplemental part of the first round in the 2011 MLB Draft, 52nd overall. After pitching two partial seasons for Tampa Bay, he took the league by storm in 2018. Snell had one of the greatest seasons by a left-handed pitcher in MLB history, going 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA in 31 starts. Snell’s performance brought him his first Cy Young Award and also put him on the map as one of the best pitchers in baseball. During the season he only gave up 112 hits in 180.2 innings pitched, while striking out 221 batters. 

After his Cy Young season, Snell signed a five-year contract worth $50MM dollars. This was the largest deal given to a major league pitcher before they reached salary arbitration. During his next two seasons in Tampa Bay he made several trips to the IL and never was able to regain his dominance of 2018. 

In December of 2020, the Rays traded Snell to the San Diego Padres in exchange for prospects Luis Patino, Blake Hunt, and Cole Wilcox, along with catcher Francisco Mejia. In his first two seasons with San Diego, Snell struggled to go late into games and only finished a combined 15-16 between 2021-2022. Last season, Snell was able to find his command and pitched consistently throughout the season, on his way to his 2nd Cy Young Award.

Here is a look at San Francisco’s starting rotation after the signing of Blake Snell.

1- Logan Webb

2- Blake Snell

3- Kyle Harrison

4- Jordan Hicks

5- Keaton Winn

Draft Nation Stats- 1st round pick (supplemental pick) 52nd overall by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2011 MLB Draft.