Blake Snell is now a free agent. MLB.com is keeping track of the latest news and rumors surrounding the left-handed starting pitcher.
Dec. 23: Angels reportedly making Snell a priority; Giants also in pursuit
While no one can replace the incomparable Shohei Ohtani in Anaheim, there are a number of available players who can address some of the glaring holes on the Angels’ roster. Starting pitching is perhaps the Halos’ biggest need, and the team appears to have some interest in one of the top arms left on the market.
The Halos are trying to turn the page after losing Ohtani to the Dodgers, and a Snell signing would be a good first step for the club. While Ohtani had a 3.14 ERA over 23 starts in 2023, the five pitchers currently projected to make up the Angels’ ’24 rotation — Reid Detmers, Patrick Sandoval, Tyler Anderson, Chase Silseth and Griffin Canning — combined for a 4.53 ERA over 111 starts.
This isn’t the first time the Angels have been linked to Snell. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported in late November that he heard the Halos were “very interested” in the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner.
Now that the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes have concluded, with the prized Japanese ace reaching a 12-year deal to join Ohtani on the Dodgers, the market for Snell is expected to heat up.
Per Slusser’s report, the Giants are targeting Snell after missing out on both Ohtani and Yamamoto. However, as Slusser notes, San Francisco might have missed its best chance to recruit Snell. There’s likely to be more competition for his services with Yamamoto off the board. Slusser considers it likely that at least one of the teams that wasn’t able to land Yamamoto — the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Phillies and Blue Jays were all in on him in addition to the Giants and Dodgers — will join in on the Snell bidding.
Dec. 21: Is Snell the next top free agent to sign?
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is holding up the free-agent market no longer. Now that the coveted Japanese ace has agreed to a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Dodgers, per source, the other available frontline starters could come off the board in short order.
Snell might be next as he is arguably the second-best starting pitcher in free agency this year. The 31-year-old is coming off a season in which he led MLB with a 2.25 ERA over 180 innings and took home his second Cy Young Award.
It was also reported previously that the Mets had interest in Snell, but after missing out on Yamamoto, their No. 1 target, they are not expected to be in the bidding for any of the high-end starters, according to SNY’s Andy Martino.
Contract predictions for Snell at the outset of the offseason ranged from $122 million over five years to $200 million over seven years. But as those publications predicted that Yamamoto would get a deal worth a little more than $200 million, it’s fair to assume that his agreement with the Dodgers has raised the price on Snell, Jordan Montgomery and all other significant starting pitchers in the market.
Snell, unlike Montgomery, is attached to Draft pick compensation after declining the qualifying offer. If a non-Padres club signs him, Snell’s new team would have to surrender a pick after the fourth round.
Dec. 14: Are Giants the frontrunner for Snell?
Snell, like the other top pitchers on the free-agent market, may not sign until the top starter available, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, makes a decision on his MLB destination. There are reportedly at least seven clubs vying for Yamamoto, and the teams that don’t land him could pivot directly to the reigning National League Cy Young winner.
The 31-year-old southpaw has had great success against the Giants’ toughest competition in the NL West, the Dodgers and D-backs. He has recorded a 2.59 ERA and a .171 opponents’ batting average through 62 2/3 innings versus Los Angeles. He has been even stingier against Arizona: 1.11 ERA and a .139 opponents’ BA over 48 2/3 innings.
Snell is tied to Draft pick compensation after declining the qualifying offer, but he will likely come cheaper than the 25-year-old Yamamoto, who might garner offers close to $300 million. The Giants have already made one significant splash in free agency, agreeing to a six-year, $113 million contract with Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee, per source. They are also interested in free-agent third baseman Matt Chapman. But in order to keep up with their division rivals, they need to upgrade a rotation that saw only two starters top 100 innings last season: Alex Cobb and NL Cy Young finalist Logan Webb.
Heyman mentioned the Angels and Mets as two other possible fits for Snell.
Dec. 9: How Ohtani’s monster megadeal could impact Snell
Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers is expected to break the logjam of this year’s hot stove season, with a potential for a busy week to come. Virtually every major free agent is impacted by the two-way superstar’s megadeal, but how might it influence the market for the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, in particular?
The Dodgers were rumored to be in the mix for Snell, but in the wake of the huge Ohtani deal, the chances of him landing there may have taken a pretty significant hit. Still, you can’t count them out — the Dodgers are in need of starting pitching and won’t have the luxury of Ohtani’s presence on the mound until at least 2025. With Ohtani deferring a substantial amount of his contract, there may be avenues for Los Angeles to pursue top flight pitching.
Among other teams rumored to be in on the Snell sweepstakes are the Cubs, Giants, Mets, Red Sox and the incumbent Padres, for whom he pitched from 2021-23. Among these teams, the Red Sox are perhaps the most in need of an upgrade in the starting rotation after their starters posted a 22nd-ranked 4.68 ERA.
The Cubs and Mets, meanwhile, were in the middle of the pack in that category, whereas the Giants and Padres were both in the top 10 — for San Diego, of course, that is thanks in large part to Snell’s sensational ’23 campaign.
The field isn’t necessarily limited to those teams, however — there have been rumblings about interest from the Phillies, Angels and even Snell’s hometown team, the Mariners.
Nov. 29: Does Snell ‘badly’ want to pitch for Mariners?
On NBC’s Thanksgiving telecast of the Seahawks-49ers game in Seattle, play-by-play broadcaster Mike Tirico suggested that Snell, a native of Seattle and the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, wants to pitch for his hometown team.
MassLive’s Chris Cotillo later posted on social media that Snell “badly” wants to pitch for the Mariners, and that came on the heels of a radio appearance by Seattle Times reporter Ryan Divish, who stated that he thinks the Mariners “are gonna sign Blake Snell because he really wants to come home, and then they’ll trade one of the young pitchers for a bat.”
Seattle has a talented group of starters — veteran Luis Castillo and youngsters George Kirby and Logan Gilbert each posted an ERA below 3.75 over at least 190 innings last season, and 2021 AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray could return during the first half of next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last spring. Adding Snell to the front of their rotation could enable the Mariners to move one of the young starters for an upgrade to the lineup in their quest to overtake the Rangers and Astros in the AL West.
