MLB Insiders Overwhelmingly Believe San Francisco Giants Will Retain Ace

A panel of MLB insiders and executives tell ESPN that they believe the San Francisco Giants will end up with this Cy Young winner.

Sep 5, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Blake Snell (7) signals to the catcher during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park. / Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants are heading into free agency with a few glaring needs, not the least of which is starting pitching.

For the third straight season the Giants missed the playoffs and hovered around the .500 mark for most of the season. By no means was San Francisco a bad team. But on many nights they were just outmatched. 

Within the Giants' own division, there were two playoff teams and a third that missed out by just one game. San Francisco has grown more frustrated as their arch rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers, have spent a ton of money to bring in stars and saw a return on that investment in a World Series title last month.

The decision to hire former Giant star Buster Posey as the new president of baseball operations has resulted optimism that he can turn things around. 

While adding a hitter appears to be a priority for San Francisco this offseason, one of their top starting pitchers hit free agency in Blake Snell. The Giants signed the southpaw last offseason, and after a great second half of the season, he declined his player option to become a free agent again. 

Considered by most to be the second-best pitcher on the free-agent market behind Corbin Burnes, Snell is expected to receive well north of $100 million this offseason. 

Recently, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com polled MLB insiders about where the left-hander might go. The overwhelming outcome was that he would return to San Francisco in a surprising result. 

“Why were the Giants such heavy favorites to retain Snell after he opted out of his deal in San Francisco? It clicked for him on the West Coast," one executive said. "I don't see him leaving."

Snell returning to the Giants would be somewhat surprising, as prioritizing hitting appeared to be the plan this offseason.

However, the left-hander gave San Francisco an up-close view of what he could do in the second half of the campaign. After shaking the rust off from a late start to spring training and two stints on the injured list, he totaled a 1.45 ERA in 12 starts with a perfect 5-0 record and a no-hitter.

His strong second half might have left a lasting impression that might lead the Giants to attempt to bring back the two-time Cy Young Award winner.