SF Giants' ill-fated Blake Snell decision is still costing them in a big way

Recent reports suggest that the SF Giants are not going to pursue high-priced pitchers this offseason. An ill-fated decision made in 2024 with Blake Snell's contract may be part of the reason why the Giants are not going to spend big on the rotation.

A recent piece by Andrew Baggarly in The Athletic digs into the reasons why the Giants seem unlikely to pursue big pitchers this offseason, specifically Japanese ace Tatsuya Imai. Part of it has to do with the contract the Giants gave to Blake Snell.

SF Giants' ill-fated Blake Snell decision is still costing them

Baggarly writes about how the Giants may not have as much financial flexibility as it may seem because of the deferred money that was included in Snell's contract when he signed with the Giants ahead of the 2024 season:

"Yet the balance sheet forecasts for 2026, at least the bits of it that can be ascertained, tell a different story. The Giants’ cash-basis payroll commitments for next year include $17 million in deferred signing bonus money owed on Jan. 15 to Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell."

The fact that the Giants are still paying Snell even though he is now with the Los Angeles Dodgers and helped them win the World Series in 2025 despite some rough postseason outings is beyond frustrating. The phrase "adding insult to injury" does not even begin to do it justice.

Of course, even with the Giants paying Snell $17 million in 2026 that does not give the Giants an excuse to not go out and add to the starting rotation. Perhaps it gives them an excuse to be very wary of any contracts that include opt-outs or deferred money, but the fact that that deal can potentially be used as a justification for not being aggressive in free agency is awful.

It was a deal made by Farhan Zaidi, Buster Posey's predecessor as president of baseball operations. Posey has seemed to operate in a different way than Zaidi on free agent deals so far. There have been no opt-out deals or deferred money in any of the free agent deals Posey has made as the Giants have been burned by those sorts of deals.

The irony is that those sorts of deals seem to be the only way the Giants can land pitchers like Snell or Carlos Rodón since they are not willing to give pitchers massive contracts.

We will have to see what sorts of pitchers the Giants end up getting this offseason, but it is a shame that they are still having to deal with what was ultimately an ill-fated Snell contract as he helps the Dodgers win championships.