San Francisco Giants Ace Needs Sales Pitch to Overcome Flaws in Free Agency

The agent of this San Francisco Giants ace will have to get creative during free agency in order to get his client the biggest deal possible.

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 reuniting with left-hander Blake Snell can't be counted out. After he impressed everyone during the second half of the 2024 campaign, the Giants might be willing to give him the contract he's looking for.

One thing that could work in San Francisco's favor is hiring former team legend Buster Posey as president of baseball operations. His recent ties to the game could help keep Snell on the line.

While the left-hander had an opportunity to return to the club he opted out of his player option. That was more of a strategic decision from the Seattle native.  He wanted to test the open market and he earned the right to do so.

If San Francisco could re-sign him at a reasonable price and add a few other free agents, it wouldn't be the wrong decision to bring them back. The issue is he could be looking at a much bigger deal than he was last winter.

Last offseason Snell and his agent, Scott Boras, didn't have the market he was expecting. 

It isn't common to see a pitcher coming off his second Cy Young Award to have a below-average market. However, Snell has some issues on the mound.

Those issues were also persistent in the first half of last season, making his free agency rather interesting. If teams are still hesitant due to his walk numbers and lack of pitching deep into games, there's a chance he won't get the money he's looking for.

David Schoenfield of ESPN highlighted that but added that Snell and Boras will look to "play it differently" this winter.

"Snell finished 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts and 104 innings in 2024. So why would things be different this year? It's the same pitcher, with the same weaknesses (concerns about durability, strike-throwing and consistency) and strengths (best lefty stuff in the game out of maybe Tarik Skubal, ability to dominate for stretches). Well, Boras and Snell probably will play it differently this time, but it's also important to highlight what Snell did after returning July 9 from injury: a 1.23 ERA and .382 OPS allowed over his 14 final starts."

Flaws are flaws, so Boras might have to come up with a sales pitch that provides his client what he's looking for.

Snell's market remains to be seen. Free agency has been quiet to start, which doesn't give anyone much indication of what Snell is looking at.

For the Giants, Snell having a lesser market than expected is what they should want. That'd give them an easy route to bring him back, which at this point, seems possible.