Latest Contract Prediction for San Francisco Giants Ace Should Help Club Re-Sign Him

The left-hander was predicted to land a contract in the $100 million mark, giving the San Francisco Giants a clear chance to sign him.

Sep 22, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blake Snell (7) pitches during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

San Francisco Giants ace Blake Snell looks poised to hit the open market this winter, giving him an opportunity to get paid for one of the final times in his career. Unless, he's willing to sign another one-year deal for high AAV, a long-term deal seems to be in play.

The left-handed starter has been one of the top arms in Major League Baseball throughout much of his career and should be compensated handsomely because of that. 

While his time with the Giants didn't go as planned from the team's perspective, it's tough to blame Snell too much.

Sure, he didn't throw the baseball at a high level during the first few starts of his career in San Francisco, but he was lights out in the second half.

Posting a 3.12 ERA and 145 strikeouts in 104.0 innings pitched, the likelihood of him getting $100 plus million seems all but guaranteed. 

It remains uncertain if the Giants will be the team that gives him that, but he hinted at wanting to return.

“I love it here,” Snell said, according to Marie Guardado of MLB.com. “I think we can be really, really good. I see a lot of promise. I enjoyed being here. We’ll see what happens. I don’t like the whole having to decide and do all that."

The issue with Snell, however, is that he has an opt-out in his contract during the winter. From his perspective, it doesn't make much sense to opt into that unless his free agency is as slow as it was last winter.

This time around, don't expect that to be the case. 

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report views him as someone who should easily "secure" $100 million, highlighting how elite he was in the second half of the campaign. 

"Blake Snell had a rocky start to the 2024 season, but from July 9 through the end of the year, he went 5-0 with a 1.23 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 114 strikeouts in 80.1 innings, limiting opposing hitters to a .123 batting average. There's no reason he shouldn't secure $100 million this time around if agent Scott Boras can get out of his own way."

Losing Snell wouldn't be the best scenario for San Francisco, but it wouldn't be the end all be all.

They have the resources to go out and sign other players, and with multiple pitchers on the market who could help this team, they should be able to pivot easily elsewhere.