SF Giants arguably have best rotation duo in baseball after latest signing

The SF Giants bolstered the starting rotation in a big way after reportedly signing Blake Snell to a two-year, $62 million pact. The move gives the team one of the best rotation duos in baseball, pairing Logan Webb with Snell.

SF Giants arguably have best rotation duo in baseball after latest signing

Before the signing was reported, there was plenty of unease and concern with the Giants' rotation. Webb was entering the year as the only known commodity on the staff. Behind him was Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, Keaton Winn, and maybe even Mason Black.

Alex Cobb (hip) and Robbie Ray (Tommy John surgery) will start the year on the injured list with the former ahead of schedule in his recovery timeline.

The Giants believe in their young pitchers and they hope that some of them become rotation mainstays in the near future. However, the team was putting a lot of faith in young and inexperienced arms being able to bridge the gap until the veterans return.

The addition of Snell alleviates some of that concern. It bears mentioning that the back end of the rotation to start the year still has some question marks, but an early return from Cobb would quell those concerns.

With the addition of Snell, the Giants will run out one of the best duos in baseball. The left-handed hurler took home the NL Cy Young award in 2023 after he tallied a 2.25 ERA, 3.44 FIP, 1.18 WHIP, 11.7 K/9, and a 2.36 SO/W rate in 32 starts with the San Diego Padres.

There were no surprises when it was announced that Snell won the award. He was clearly the best pitcher in the league. However, Webb did finish second in the NL Cy Young voting as well. He registered a 3.25 ERA, 3.16 FIP, 1.07 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, and a 6.26 SO/W ratio while leading the league with 216 innings pitched.

Webb and Snell vary quite a bit in terms of their style. Webb gets a healthy number of strikeouts, attacks the strike zone, and induces a lot of ground outs. On the other hand, Snell is just tough to hit and will tally high strikeout totals.

There are plenty of solid rotation duos in baseball, but on paper, these two should be among the best. Perhaps, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola of the Philadelphia Phillies or Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers are part of that conversation. Nola is coming off of a down year, whereas Yamamoto does not have major league experience yet, but projects to be one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón of the New York Yankees certainly have the upside to be in the conversation. However, Cole will start the year on the injured list after experiencing elbow discomfort and Rodón had a disastrous first season in New York.

Both Webb and Snell are coming off of superb 2023 campaigns and this is a topic that is weighted heavily based on recency bias.

How much of an impact will it make? Teams only go so far as the starting rotation takes them. If Webb and Snell continue to thrive in 2024, the Giants could be a tough team to beat in a short series. It is too early to discuss the playoffs, but you can see the potential with these two.