Blake Snell's extended free agency has ended.
The National League Cy Young Award winner agreed to a two-year, $62 million deal with the San Francisco Giants on Monday, 10 days before his new team opens its regular season against his former team, the San Diego Padres, a source confirmed to ESPN's Jeff Passan. The deal includes subscription cancellations after the first season.
Snell's deal — like those of Scott Boras clients Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman, both of whom signed after the start of spring training — gives him a higher average annual value for the shorter length of his contract, but also allows him to re-enter free agency in hopes of experiencing a more aggressive market in Next off-season.
Snell completes what has been a busy season for the Giants, who have made the playoffs just once in the past seven years and have strived to gain more star power for a team now led by three-time GM Bob Melvin.
The Giants added a new center fielder and leadoff hitter in Korean Jung-ho Lee, who signed a six-year, $113 million contract in December, and a new middle-class hitter in Jorge Soler, who received a three-year, $42 million deal in February. . They also traded for former Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray, who won't return until the second half as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, and signed Jordan Hicks, who will turn into a full-time starter.
But their biggest move came late, when they landed Chapman on March 1 on a three-year, $54 million deal that included two opt-outs, 18 days before Snell was agreed to.
Snell, 31, spent the past three years with the Padres, and will now return to a division that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers spend more than $1.2 billion this offseason headlined by Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow.
Snell threw a four-inning simulated game from his hometown of Seattle on Friday. The Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees were among the teams most closely linked to Snell, but in the end the Giants' short-handed offer won out.
Snell is one of seven pitchers to win the Cy Young Award in both the American League and National League, taking home the trophy in 2023 after going 14-9 with an MLB-best 2.25 ERA for San Diego. He received 28 out of 30 first place votes.
In 2018, Snell received 17 of 30 first-place votes after posting a 1.89 ERA in 31 starts for the Tampa Bay Rays to beat out Justin Verlander.
Snell has long been known for having some of the nastiest stuff of any left-handed player in the game, with a wicked ball-breaking fastball combination. When the Rays made him available for trade after the 2020 World Series, San Diego jumped at the opportunity, trading four players for the left-hander. He allowed the fewest hits per nine innings (5.8) of any pitcher who qualified for the ERA title last season, surrendering just 115 hits over 180 innings.
However, some teams were concerned about making big bids on him in free agency due to his past leadership issues and inconsistency. The year after he won his first Cy Young Award, Snell's ERA ballooned to 4.29. Last season, Snell led the major leagues in walks with 99.
Snell's agreement with the Giants was first reported by the New York Post.
ESPN's Buster Olney contributed to this report.
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