San Francisco Giants Unwilling to Make Things Easy for Teams Interested in Ace

The San Francisco Giants' bold stance in a Blake Snell trade has been revealed ahead of the deadline.

Apr 8, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blake Snell (7) throws a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the second inning at Oracle Park. / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants are being thrown around in MLB trade rumors ahead of the Tuesday trade deadline. Plenty of names have been mentioned as potential candidates who could be on the move.

While there are other players to keep a close eye on, the most talked about name in recent days has been star starting pitcher Blake Snell.

At one point, he was unexpected to be moved because of his poor play, but with him returning to his dominant form, many teams around the league have become interested in acquiring the reigning NL Cy Young winner.

How willing the Giants are to actually moving him right now isn't known, but if they do eventually decided to trade him, they aren't going to make it easy.

According to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post, San Francisco is unwilling to pay down Snell's contract. That deal includes a $30 million 2025 player option.

The Giants are suggesting for now they are unwilling to pay down Blake Snell’s deal, which includes a $30M 2025 player option. Snell is in great form (.347 OPS against last 4 starts via @MLBNetwork) but if they maintain this stance, that will limit the field.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 29, 2024

Obviously, if that is indeed the case, the list of teams interested in acquiring him will shrink.

Snell got off to a rough start to the 2024 MLB season. He dealt with some injury issues, but since getting back to full health he has been looking like the superstar that he's more than capable of being all the time.

Over his last four starts, he has put together elite performances. He has pitched 24.0 innings to go along with just eight hits, two earned runs, seven walks, and has also struck out 30 batters.

Those are the kind of numbers that contenders are looking to add ahead of the deadline. He's capable of making a fringe team one of the top World Series contenders in the league.

Looking around the rest of the league, there are many teams who need starting pitching. A few potential trade suitors could be the Cleveland Guardians, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, and Houston Astros.

There are plenty of potential buyers that would want to acquire Snell.

Not being willing to pay down any of his contract will make a deal much more difficult to get done. However, that stance could very well change depending on an offer.

All of that being said, Snell is still going to be a name to keep a very close eye. Expect to hear more report and rumors about the 31-year-old ace as things will continue heating up as the deadline draws closer.