Oft-connected SF Giants target trolls baseball world with simple social media post

Where will Blake Snell land for the 2024 season? Could it be with the SF Giants? The New York Yankees? A mystery term? The veteran pitcher seemingly trolled the baseball world on Sunday with a simple social media post.

Oft-connected SF Giants target trolls baseball world with simple social media post

The post is an Instagram story. Snell is using the eyes emoji to draw attention to something. Of course, he remains a free agent despite earning his second Cy Young award in 2023 and becoming just one of seven pitchers in baseball history to take home the award in both leagues.

This is not exactly how the eight-year veteran expected his foray into free agency to go when the offseason began. However, teams are midway through spring training and there has not been much movement on him or Jordan Montgomery. Could that be changing soon?

His social media post seems to suggest that. Or, he is simply trolling the baseball world from the comfort of his home.

The Giants have been connected to Snell quite a bit this offseason and there was even some optimism within the organization before they signed Matt Chapman. The Giants could certainly use another starter given that their Opening Day rotation could consist of Logan Webb, Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, Keaton Winn, and Mason Black.

The rotation will be getting a jolt with the expected returns of both Alex Cobb (hip) and Robbie Ray (Tommy John surgery) at some point in the season. Until then, the Giants plan to rely on an inexperienced and unproven rotation outside of Webb.

It bears mentioning the Giants still have some spending room below the Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) threshold of $237 million. They even created some extra room after reportedly placing J.D. Davis on waivers on Saturday. San Francisco will still be on the hook for the pro-rated amount of the $6.9 million owed to Davis if he goes unclaimed and is released.

This would give them approximately $222 million committed against the CBT, so they could spend around $15 million before crossing into the luxury tax. Snell will command significantly more than that on an annual basis and the Giants already have the highest projected CBT payroll in their franchise's history.

They could cross the CBT threshold. That is a choice. The penalties range from a tax on the overage in the more common occurrences to a drop in the draft order in the more extreme cases.

The Giants have a need for pitching and Snell checks that box. However, it feels like if they do add another arm, it will be someone who fits into the team's payroll. That is not Snell.