Report: SF Giants are 'leading candidate' to sign Padres ace Blake Snell

The SF Giants are emerging as "the leading candidate" to sign reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell in free agency, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

The SF Giants may be making an aggressive push to sign free-agent starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto (#2-ranked free agent), but it seems like the industry is beginning to suspect they will end up finding a different co-ace to pair with Logan Webb. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Giants are emerging as the most likely landing spot for former San Diego Padres ace Blake Snell (#6-ranked free agent). The veteran lefty is coming off an excellent 2023 season, when he won his second-career Cy Young Award.

San Diego Padres ace Blake Snell pitches against the SF Giants during at Petco Park. (2023) / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

"The San Francisco Giants appear to be the leading candidate for free-agent starter Blake Snell, who won't sign until Yamamoto's deal becomes finalized," wrote Nightengale.

Snell was incredibly dominant in the 2023 season. He recorded a league-leading 2.25 ERA in 180 innings pitched (32 starts) with 234 strikeouts and 99 walks. Interestingly, he became the first pitcher in MLB history to lead the league in both ERA and walks. Despite winning the Cy Young, Snell was not selected as an All-Star, a likely result of the inconsistency that has defined his career.

Snell has never been a bad starting pitcher. However, he has oscillated between occasional seasons of dominance and others where injuries and his below-average command limit him to a mid-rotation role. On one hand, Snell has won the Cy Young every season of his career when he has completed at least 130 innings pitched. On the other, he has only managed to rack up 130 innings pitched twice in his career.

Still, no one can say Snell's 2023 was a one-hit wonder. He won his first Cy Young back in 2018 when he pitched 180.2 innings of 1.89 ERA ball. While his mid-90s four-seam fastball is quite hittable, Snell has a trio of plus or better secondary offerings. His signature curveball has consistently been one of the best pitches in MLB throughout his career, but his changeup and slider have also generated whiffs at rates north of 40% in each of the past two seasons.

Adding Snell would help the Giants in multiple ways, it would obviously upgrade the team's rotation while also taking away the best pitcher from a division rival. After all, if not for a decision to slash payroll this offseason, the Padres would have likely done everything they could to keep Snell in Southern California. Moreover, the Giants have some added insight into Snell from manager Bob Melvin, who led the Padres clubhouse over the past two seasons.

The SF Giants began this offseason reportedly "set" on signing one of Shohei Ohtani or Yoshinobu Yamamoto. However, it seems like they may fall short in both pursuits. Nevertheless, if that's the case, Bob Nightengale of USA Today seems to believe that they will shift their focus to reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. If they are able to get a deal done, that would be far from a bad consolation prize.