SF Giants lefty ace opts out of contract, surprising no one

SF Giants lefty ace Blake Snell has opted out of his contract. He will now be a free agent and it seems quite unlikely, but not impossible, that the Giants will get him back in free agency. If they do not, they will certainly regret not trading him.

It was an exciting time when the Giants signed Blake Snell during Spring Training. Expectations for 2024 immediately sored. The Giants were getting 2023's Cy Young Award winner on their team after already landing Jung Hoo Lee, Matt Chapman, and Jorge Soler. Things were going to be different.

But then they weren't.

Blake Snell opts out of contract with SF Giants

Snell was not fully ready to start the regular season since he signed so late in Spring Training and it showed. His body was not right and he got knocked around in his early outing before going on the injured list a few times with various ailments cause by him not being fully in shape to start the year.

He did turn things around dramatically beginning in July. From that point on for the rest of the season he was absolutely dominant and was the Snell the Giants hoped they were getting. At the end of the year his ERA was 3.12 in 104 innings pitched. He also had a whopping 145 strikeouts on the season.

Him opting out of his contract, which indluded a $38.5 million player option to stay with the Giants, was not a surprise at all. The fact that the contract was so short-term was classic Farhan Zaidi behavior. He was afraid to commit too much time and money to an aging pitcher with control issues.

The Giants did get the best version of Snell for half the year, but it seems highly likely that he will be playing elsewhere next season. The Giants may not be willing to compete in the large biddig war that is likely to ensue.

There are options to replace Snell if he does walk in free agency, but it will be tough for the team to try to replace someone of Snell's unique skills.