Why Blake Snell is the key to a hyper-successful offseason for the SF Giants without Ohtani or Yamamoto

Why Blake Snell is the key to a hyper-successful offseason for the SF Giants without Ohtani or Yamamoto

3. The Team Identity

Lastly, adding Blake Snell would give the SF Giants something they currently lack: an obvious team identity. What is the biggest strength of this Giants team? It's a difficult question to answer.

They are solid across several key fronts. Yet, they do not have a true identity. However, adding Snell would immediately transform San Francisco into a club defined by their starting rotation.

Incumbent ace Logan Webb was a Cy Young finalist in his own right. Now, imagine adding a second Cy Young-caliber starter to the top of his rotation. With Alex Cobb then settling into a role as a highly-effective #3 starter.

The back end of the rotation would still need to be rounded out. But, how many teams in baseball could challenge SF for a better top two than Webb and Snell? Or a better big three than Snell, Webb, and Cobb?

This would give the Bay Area the firepower to compete against the juggernaut Dodgers and the defending NL Champion Diamondbacks in a loaded NL West. And, perhaps more importantly, it would make the club extremely dangerous in a Wild Card matchup in the postseason (and beyond).