Blake Snell opts out of Giants contract, hopes for better offseason free agency market

Pitcher Blake Snell is opting out of his contract with the San Francisco Giants and will become a free agent for the second consecutive offseason.

This past season, Snell compiled a 3.12 ERA and 5–3 record with 145 strikeouts in 104 innings. The left-hander threw his first career no-hitter on Aug. 2 versus the Cincinnati Reds. However, he was limited to 20 starts due to injuries to his left adductor and left groin.

Snell, 31, signed a two-year deal with the Giants after being available on the free-agent market until March, failing to get the lucrative long-term contract he hoped for after winning the National League Cy Young Award in 2023 with the San Diego Padres with a 2.24 ERA, 14–9 record and 234 strikeouts in 180 innings.

The nine-year veteran was one of four Scott Boras clients who were highly touted free agents, yet could not find any teams interested in signing them to lucrative multi-year, nine-figure contracts. Each of the “Boras Four” didn’t sign until well into spring training, close to the start of the regular season.

Snell’s two-year deal was for $62 million, paying him $15 million in 2024 with $30 million set for 2025, $15 million of which would have been deferred until 2027. Jordan Montgomery signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. (The deal included a $25 million vesting player option which Montgomery exercised this week.)

Matt Chapman signed a three-year, $54 million deal with the Giants. And Cody Bellinger may have gotten the best deal, re-signing with the Chicago Cubs for three years and $80 million.

However, Chapman eventually cashed in with the sort of deal he and Boras expected last offseason, agreeing to a six-year, $151 million extension in September. He finished with a .247 average, .790 OPS and 15 stolen bases, leading the team with 39 doubles, 27 home runs and 78 RBI.

After the season he had with the Padres and two years removed from the second Cy Young Award of his career (he first won in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays), Snell is hoping for a similar payday amid a free agent market in which he figures to be one of the top starting pitchers available along with Corbin Burnes, Jack Flaherty and Max Fried.