Why Blake Snell's comments on SF Giants ace Logan Webb are so frustrating

The Los Angeles Dodgers look like they are cruising towards a second straight World Series title. Former SF Giants pitcher Blake Snell has been great for the Dodgers in the playoffs, and his comments on Logan Webb leave one wondering "what if?"

After Snell's impressive performance in the NLCS, he was gracious enough to give Webb a shout out for helping him during his one season with the Giants.

SF Giants could have had a super-rotation with Webb and Snell

Snell said that Webb really helped him figure out how to pitch deeper into games which is something that Snell has struggled with for most of his career. It is nice that Snell gave Webb a shout out like this, and it is not a huge surprise since Webb had nothing but nice things to say about Snell even after he joined the Dodgers. Yet, it also leaves one wondering what could have been if he remained a Giant.

Snell only had one season with the Giants in 2024, and really it was more of half a season. He was not ready to pitch at the start of the season after signing with the Giants during spring training and struggled with injuries and consistency throughout the first half.

He completely turned things around in the second half and was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball, pitching a no-hitter and ending the season with a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts.

That stellar second half basically ensured that he would opt out of his contract and test free agency which is exactly what he did. Snell ended up going to the worst place imaginable as he signed a lucrative five-year $182 million contract with the Dodgers.

Apparently, there was not much interest from the Giants in bringing Snell back. Snell says the Giants did not talk to him about a new contract and the team in general has shown an aversion to handing out big contracts to starting pitchers dating back to their decision to pass on Kevin Gausman when he hit free agency.

Maybe this is for the best because Snell seems perfectly designed for the Dodgers. He only made 11 regular season starts for LA as he had a very similar first half to the one he had with the Giants, but he came on strong late and was in peak form heading into the playoffs which is really all the Dodgers need from him since their roster is so stacked.

The Giants do not have the luxury of signing a guy to a big deal who is probably going to make less than 20 starts per season because they need a guy who is going to help them get to the playoffs in the first place which is far from a given.

Still, it is hard not to dream about what Webb and Snell could have looked like as a formidable one-two punch in a playoff series. Maybe they could have been the first duo to pitch back-to-back games of eight innings or more in playoff games since Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum did it back in 2010 rather than Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Instead, Snell may very well help lead the Dodgers to their second straight championship. A reunion probably wasn't in the cards no matter what after he opted out, but his kind words about Webb will leave fans wondering what could have been.