With the pursuit of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the rearview mirror – much to the Giants' chagrin – San Francisco will shift its focus to its remaining free agent targets.
Who could that be? Well, reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell seems to be the next obvious target.
Or is it?
Here's why pursuing Snell makes sense for the Giants and why it doesn't.
Why it makes sense
Snell began the 2023 offseason as the best proven free agent pitcher on the market and remains available due to the stagnation caused by the respective free agencies of Ohtani and Yamamoto.
The 31-year-old is a two-time Cy Young Award winner and is coming off a dominant 2023 season with the San Diego Padres in which he posted a 14-9 record with a 2.25 ERA in 180 pitches and 234 strikeouts.
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has made it clear that the team wants to add a top-tier starter alongside star Logan Webb, and Snell is the only remaining free agent who fits those needs.
He's a certified ace and would give the Giants an elite one-two punch at the top of the rotation after Snell and Webb finished first and second, respectively, for Cy Young last season.
Snell also played for current Giants manager Bob Melvin in San Diego. That familiarity, the pitcher-friendly confines of Oracle Park and the Giants' desperation for a big move make this a pretty obvious fit.
Why not
The biggest disadvantage against Snell is his command. He led all MLB pitchers in walks issued with 99 free passes last season, which was 30 more free passes than his next best single-season total at any point in his eight-year MLB career.
Still, he won the Cy Young.
Despite an impressive 2.25 ERA, Snell finished the season with a FIP (Fielding Independent of Pitching) of 3.44, which may indicate that a regression toward the mean is on the horizon.
As dominant as Snell was in 2023 and as good a pitcher as he should continue to be from here on out, he doesn't fit the typical mold of the Giants' free agent pitching target.
Snell is represented by super agent Scott Boras, who will likely push for his client to receive the largest contract in terms of average annual value for a free agent pitcher this offseason, surpassing Yamamoto's mark of $27 million per season.
This shouldn't be a problem for the Giants at all. San Francisco has enough financial flexibility to afford multiple high AAV contracts. What could be an issue, however, is the length of the contract.
The Giants have made their philosophy clear when it comes to free agent pitchers over the years. At 31, a contract for Snell longer than four or five years goes against every fiber of the Giants' being.
That philosophy saved the Giants from a potentially disastrous deal for Carlos Rodón last offseason, but it also led to them losing Kevin Gausman two offseasons ago, which was arguably the organization's biggest mistake under Zaidi.
What path would signing Snell mean for them?
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