Blake Snell Says Players Need Spring Training

After missing all of Spring Training and struggling so far this season, Blake Snell says players need it and hopes teams see that.

Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants brought in Blake Snell as one of their prized acquisitions this offseason, signing him to a two year deal worth $62 million with an opt-out right after he won his second Cy Young.

Despite winning that Cy Young and being one of the more prized pitchers in the offseason, he didn't get the big contract that most people thought he would. That's not to say teams weren't willing to give Snell a big deal, because he reportedly turned down a six year deal worth $150 million from the New York Yankees.

Scott Boras, his agent, said after he signed that "the market viewed him as, 'what happened in '21 and '22?'" He had the big deal on the table, but Snell decided to hold out for a bigger deal that he would not get, leading him to not sign until mid-March.

Because of such a late signing, Snell missed all of Spring Training and didn't even make his first start until the third week of the season. He didn't get to face big league hitting until that start, and it showed. He gave up three earned runs in 3.0 innings, walking two and striking out five.

He struggled in his next two starts, throwing 8.2 innings and allowing 12 earned runs walking three and striking out seven. He then hit the injured list and missed nearly a month, and upon his return continued to struggle, allowing four runs in 3.1 innings in his first start back.

After his start against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, he spoke to the media about the importance of Spring Training for the first time. The lefty once again struggled, but looked better than he had all year to date. In 4.0 innings, Snell allowed four runs, three earned, walking two and striking out a season high seven batters.

In his media session after the game, he began by saying, "One thing I will say, big league Spring Training, you need it." Snell had to ramp up quicker than most players who do get Spring Training, but that ramp up was on the backfields where he was facing minor league hitters.

"I thought I did everything I could to be ready," he said, later following it up by saying "I didn't face a big league hitter until I pitched my first game in the big leagues this year. It's tough. You just have nothing to go off of."

The adjustment from facing minor league players to major league hitters in such a short time, after a long offseason with no Spring Training has to be tough on the pitchers from an attack stand point because big leaguers are such a different animal. This could especially be true for Snell, who is notorious for nibbling at the edge of the strike zone.

He mentioned Jordan Montgomery, another free agent pitcher who signed late and missed all of Spring Training. While he hasn't had the struggles that Snell has, Montgomery still has an ERA near five and hasn't looked like himself, either.

"You have to go to Spring Training. For me, I hope teams see that," said Snell. While he didn't say it outright, it sounds like he doesn't want teams to wait so far into the offseason to sign players, so they don't have to go through what Snell did to get ready for the season.

Despite his poor performance thus far, the Giants are still going to need to count on the two time Cy Young winner if they want to make a Wild Card push. With more action against big league hitters, there might be a bigger adjustment and steady improvement from the lefty.