Blake Snell opts out of deal with Giants

Left-handed Blake Snell has exercised the opt-out clause in his contract and is now a free agent. The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly was one of those who broke the news on X.

The news is not at all surprising. Snell was a free agent a year ago and didn't find the contract he was looking for despite coming off a Cy Young campaign in 2023.

He eventually signed a two-year contract with the Giants with $62 million guaranteed. This came in the form of a $15 million salary and $17 million signing bonus for 2024, with a $30 million salary for 2025 if Snell stayed.

Opting out after the first year was clearly intended to give Snell the chance to have another shot at free agency if he could stay healthy and have another strong season in 2024.

For a while it seemed like that wasn't going to happen. Maybe it's because he didn't sign until mid-March and spring training was delayed, so he stumbled out of the gate in 2024 and suffered a few injuries as well. At the end of June he was on the injured list for the second time, the first time with a left adductor muscle strain and the second time with a left groin strain. In the six starts he made, he had a 9.51 earned run average.

But he came back shortly after and was completely dominant the rest of the way. He posted a 1.23 ERA in his final 14 starts of the year. His 10% walk rate was a bit high, but he struck out 38.1% of batters that faced him.

Snell has dealt with a few injuries over the years, but has consistently proven himself to be one of the best pitchers in the world on the mound. From 2018 to present, he has a 3.03 ERA and a 32.1% strikeout rate, both of which rank in the top ten among qualified starters for this stretch. Only among pitchers with at least 250 pitches in the last two years Tarik Skubal has a lower ERA than Snell's 2.57 mark. Snell's 32.7% strikeout rate during that time is also second best, just a hair lower Tyler GlasnowThe tax rate is 32.8%.

Given that top-notch performance, it was widely expected that Snell would return to free agency, hoping to find a more robust market this time around. He will be one of the best starting players next to him Corbin Burnes, Max Fried And Jack Flaherty. Snell leaves $30 million on the table but should be able to go above that with a nine-figure deal.