Snell lands two-year, $62M contract with Giants
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
Blake Snell‘s prolonged free agency has ended.
The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner agreed to a two-year, $62 million deal with the San Francisco Giants on Monday, 10 days before his new team opens its regular season against his former one, the San Diego Padres. The deal includes an opt-out after the first season.
San Francisco released terms of the deal on Tuesday. Snell received a $17 million signing bonus and is set to make $15 million this season and $30 million next season, half of which will be deferred until 2027.
Snell’s deal — like those of fellow Scott Boras clients Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman, both of whom signed after spring training began — gives him a higher average annual value in exchange for fewer length on his contract, but also allows him to reenter free agency with the hope of experiencing a more robust market next offseason.
Snell completes what has been a busy offseason for the Giants, who have made the playoffs only once in the past seven years and strived to acquire more star power for a team now led by three-time manager of the year Bob Melvin.
The Giants added a new center fielder and leadoff hitter in Korea’s Jung Hoo Lee, who signed a six-year, $113 million deal in December, and a new middle-of-the-order bat in Jorge Soler, who was given a three-year, $42 million deal in February. They also traded for former Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray, who won’t return until the second half as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, and signed Jordan Hicks, who will convert to a full-time starting pitcher.
But their biggest moves came late, when they landed Chapman on March 1 with a three-year, $54 million deal that includes two opt-outs, 18 days before agreeing to bring in Snell.
Snell, 31, spent the past three years with the Padres and will return to a division that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers splurge more than $1.2 billion in an offseason headlined by Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow.
Snell threw a four-inning simulated game from his hometown of Seattle on Friday. The Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees were among the teams most frequently linked to Snell, but ultimately the Giants’ short-term offer won out.
Snell is one of seven pitchers who have won the Cy Young Award in both the American League and National League, taking home the trophy in 2023 after going 14-9 with an MLB-best 2.25 ERA for San Diego. He received 28 of 30 first-place votes.
In 2018, Snell got 17 of 30 first-place votes after posting a 1.89 ERA in 31 starts for the Tampa Bay Rays to beat out Justin Verlander.
Snell has long been renowned for having some of the nastiest stuff of any left-hander in the game, with a vicious fastball-breaking ball combination. When the Rays made him available for trade following the 2020 World Series, San Diego jumped at the opportunity, swapping four players for the lefty. He allowed the fewest hits per nine innings (5.8) of any pitcher who qualified for the ERA title last season, surrendering just 115 hits over his 180 innings.
Some teams, however, were concerned about bidding big on him in free agency because of his past command issues and inconsistency. The year after he won his first Cy Young Award, Snell’s ERA ballooned to 4.29. Last season, Snell led the major leagues in walks with 99.
ESPN’s Buster Olney contributed to this report.
The San Diego Padres placed right-hander Michael King on the 15-day injured list Thursday because of left knee inflammation.
King (4-2, 2.81 ERA) had just come off the IL on Saturday, allowing two runs in as many innings of a no-decision against the Boston Red Sox.
It was his first start since May 18 as he dealt with shoulder inflammation.
Now, he’s back on the IL with a knee issue in a move retroactive to Monday.
It’s a setback for a red-hot Padres team, who will carry a five-game winning streak into a weekend showdown against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. First-place San Diego is one game ahead of L.A. in the NL West.
King had been scheduled to start the series opener Friday.
In the corresponding roster move, the Padres recalled right-hander Randy Vásquez from Triple-A El Paso.
While the Milwaukee Brewers keep on rolling, another Wisconsin business is stocking up on beef and buns.
For the third time in its history, George Webb Restaurants will make good on its promise of giving away free hamburgers as part of a longstanding promotion to celebrate the Brewers winning 12 consecutive games.
The free burger giveaway will be held Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. CT at all 23 of the restaurant’s locations throughout Wisconsin. Vouchers for a burger at a later date will be available at all locations starting Friday.
“Hungry fans are welcome to stop by any location for a free, juicy burger and some camaraderie with fellow baseball fans,” the restaurant said on its website.
Starting way back in the 1940s, when Milwaukee was home to the minor league Brewers of the old American Association, George Webb promised free burgers if the local baseball team won 17 consecutive games.
The promotion dropped to 13 games by the time the Braves made Milwaukee a big league city in 1953, but that franchise couldn’t make it happen before departing for Atlanta in 1966.
George Webb changed the promotion to 12 games when the Brewers moved from Seattle in 1970. In 1987, the Brewers opened the season with 13 wins in a row, and more than 170,000 burgers were given away to mark the occasion.
The Brewers accomplished the feat a second time in 2018, closing the regular season with eight victories followed by four playoff wins. That streak led to 90,000 free burgers being given away in addition to 100,000 redeemable vouchers.
Prior to reaching the magic mark on Wednesday, the Brewers had come close on a few occasions, including an 11-game winning streak earlier this season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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