Report: Star Free Agent Sets $60M Price Tag for Angels' AL West Rival

Is this the price Angels owner Arte Moreno is balking at?

When the offseason began, pitcher Blake Snell was rumored to be seeking $200 million in free agency. The Angels weren't the only team unwilling to engage in a bidding war for the reigning National League Cy Young award winner for 2024. 

No team was.

Flash forward to March. With the first regular-season MLB games less than a week away and the Angels still looking at a starting rotation absent an obvious ace, Snell remains a free agent.

Owner Arte Moreno said in February that he was "not going to spend money just to show that we're going to spend money." Now that the price tag on Snell has lowered considerably, will Moreno make a more modest investment?

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, Snell is seeking a minimum of two years and $60 million.  And his agent, Scott Boras, has two teams on the hook — though both clubs are waiting for the number to fall:

The Houston Astros, who exchanged contract proposals this week for two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, now appear to be long-shots to sign him. They have balked at Snell’s asking price of at least a two-year guarantee for $60 million, including an opt-out after the 2024 season.

The San Francisco Giants are now looming as the favorites for Snell, who have been engaged, but were also waiting for the price-tag to drop.

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via Bob Nightengale of USA Today

Snell, 31, went 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA in 32 starts (180 innings) for the Padres last season. His 2023 performance netted 28 of 30 first-place votes in NL Cy Young balloting — giving Snell the second Cy Young of his career.

The Astros are looking to reach the American League Championship Series for the eighth straight season, and thus far have had a more aggressive offseason than the Angels, who haven't had a winning season since 2015 or reached the playoffs since 2014. 

Against this backdrop, losing Snell to a division rival would sting in Anaheim. 

The largest total contract Moreno has ever given a pitcher was C.J. Wilson's five-year, $77.5 million contract in December 2011.

The Angels are projected to begin the season with approximately $50 million to spend before incurring a competitive balance tax, according to Cot's.