The Padres, Dodgers and Giants are all interested in free-agent left-hander Blake Snell, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post in a discussion with Lauren Shehadi of MLB Network (video courtesy of MLB Network on X).
Snell, 31 next month, is fairly unique and will likely have wide variances in how he’s valued by clubs. On the positive side, he just finished 2023 with a 2.25 earned run average over his 32 starts. His 31.5% strikeout rate was second among qualified hurlers, trailing only Spencer Strider. He has a decent shot at winning a Cy Young award tonight, which would be the second of his career after winning it with the Rays in 2018.
But Snell has somehow managed to accomplish all of that despite giving out many free passes. He has walked 10.9% of batters faced in his career and that figure was cranked up to 13.3% in 2023. For context, the major league average in the most recent season was 8.6%. The strikeouts surely helped him prevent many of those runners from scoring, but so did a strong 44.4% ground ball rate. But maintaining his .256 batting average on balls in play and 86.7% strand rate would be hard to do over an extended timeline, which is why his 3.44 FIP and 4.06 SIERA suggest his ERA was perhaps flattering him by more than a full run.
He’s also not exactly a workhorse, partly due to some injuries in his career but also due to those walks preventing him from pitching deep into games. He tossed 180 2/3 innings in 2018 and a flat 180 in 2023, with those two seasons being his highest such tallies. Each other season of his career has seen him come in under 130 frames.
Despite some concerning elements in his profile, free agents with multiple Cy Young trophies don’t grow on trees and Snell could be just that in a few hours’ time. Earlier this month, MLBTR’s list of the Top 50 Free Agents predicted Snell could get a contract of seven years and $200MM. That’s based on the fact that pitchers with the potential for dominance can still get paid, even if it’s not a volume proposition. Carlos Rodón got six years and $162MM with a longer injury track record than Snell and never once getting to the 180-inning mark.
That will likely limit Snell’s market to the clubs with deeper pockets, but it sounds like he is still plenty popular. A return to the Padres would make plenty of sense from a strict baseball perspective. The club obviously likes him since they acquired him three years ago, giving up four prospects in the process. The club also has significant rotation needs, with Snell’s free agency coinciding with that of Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo and Nick Martinez. That leaves the Friars with Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish as the only locks for their 2024 rotation.
The financial fit would be a little harder to see, however. The club is reportedly set to cut payroll significantly for next year, going from the $250MM range to the $200MM range. Roster Resource currently pegs their payroll for next year at $198MM, leaving very little wiggle room. The club is reportedly shopping reliever Scott Barlow and has at least some openness to Juan Soto trades, but the budget is obviously tight. Moving Soto for major league-ready pieces and then signing Snell with the money saved would be one way to compete again in 2024, but there would be plenty of risk in that path.
Like the Padres, the Dodgers have a reduced starting staff. Julio Urías, Clayton Kershaw and Lance Lynn are all now free agents. It’s unclear what the future holds for Urías given an ongoing domestic violence investigation, which could lead to his second such suspension of his career. Kershaw recently underwent shoulder surgery and has an uncertain path forward, perhaps having to miss the first half of 2024. Lynn’s home run troubles were pronounced enough that the Dodgers probably don’t want him back. Among guys still on the roster, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin are both recovering from surgery and may miss all of 2024.
That leaves them with Walker Buehler, who missed all of 2023 due to his own surgery rehab, and then a batch of guys who were rookies coming into 2023: Bobby Miller, Ryan Pepiot, Michael Grove, Emmet Sheehan and Gavin Stone. There’s also Nick Frasso and Landon Knack, who were just added to the roster yesterday, but adding some proven MLB arms into the mix is a sensible path forward. Heyman lists them as one of many clubs that are looking for multiple starters this winter.
Their payroll situation is far more pleasant than that of the Padres, as Roster Resource has them at just $142MM right now, along with a CBT number of $159MM. Non-tendering Ryan Yarbrough and Yency Almonte would cut both of those figures by over $5MM. It’s unknown how high they want to take the budget in 2024 but they’ve been as high as $280MM in the past, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Even if they want to stay under the luxury tax in 2024, the base threshold is $237MM next year, meaning they have around $80MM in wiggle room.
However, they may end up using a big chunk of that on Shohei Ohtani, with many observers considering them the most likely landing spot for the two-way superstar. Signing a player like Snell would also go against their track record. Despite their big payrolls, they haven’t really spent wildly on long-term deals for pitchers. In the past decade, they gave an eight-year deal to Kenta Maeda, but with a minimal guarantee of just $25MM. Since the Zack Greinke signing way back in 2012, they haven’t given a free agent pitcher more than $50MM.
The Giants also have some money to spend and seem motivated to make a big splash. Roster Resource has their 2024 payroll at $147MM and their CBT calculation at $170MM. They’ve topped out at $200MM in past seasons, per Cot’s, but might be willing to push farther this winter. Recent attempts to land star players have fallen short, with the club just missing on guys like Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa. It is expected that they will be motivated to get something splashy done this time around and could be quite aggressive in trying to do so.
President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi already spoke about the club’s plans for adding to the rotation, which makes sense given the question marks behind Logan Webb, and Heyman says they are also one of the clubs looking for multiple starting this winter. They picked up their option on Alex Cobb for 2024 but he will be coming back from hip surgery. Anthony DeSclafani and Ross Stripling will each be coming off of disappointing seasons in 2023 while guys like Kyle Harrison and Keaton Winn are fairly unproven.
Broadly speaking, the demand for starting pitching is high, with Heyman reporting that there are eight teams looking to add multiple pitchers this winter. Not all of them will have the money and/or the appetite for Snell but it seems like general the market conditions could be working in his favor.
Dang it! I have him going to the Red Sox…wrong coast!
Ignorant Son-of-a-b — Me too!
I thought the Padres lost all their $? Maybe their clipping out coupons now?
I personally hope my Red Sox look elsewhere, and am glad they’re not listed here. Snell is getting ace money but has not performed at that level consistently. And all those walks are gonna catch up to him eventually.
Agreed. Nola might be the better pitcher long term.
Nola’s the safer bet, because Snell just doesn’t throw enough strikes for me. He’s one of the best at getting guys to chase out of the strike zone. But I could see batters eventually begin to lay off all those sliders in the dirt and then all those walks will definitely catch up to him. Snell’s a plenty fine pitcher, but I think Nola will be slightly cheaper and the safer long-term bet.
mlb fan — I think the Phillies know that and want him back, just look at the innings he eats.
He is from Seattle and has said he prefers the west coast over Florida where he used to play. That doesn’t mean that if the Red Sox pony up $200+ million for 7 years that he won’t sign there.
Understood. And I think 7/$200M is an overpay that won’t age well. Not that I don’t think he’s a good pitcher.
A few days ago on this site we were talking about salary inflation and by the end of a 7 year deal top salaries will be around $65 million AAV. $30 million for Snell might seem like a bargain by then.
At 38 that arm might not be attached. Meaning it didn’t age well at all.
I have him going to the Phillies. I read that Dombrowski wants a starter who misses more bats than Nola does (whether that’s true or not I’m not sure). Also the team hasn’t engaged in contract talks with Nola, which is surprising if they want him back. I see the Phillies moving on to a new pitcher and that could be Snell.
Phillies HAVE “engaged” with Nola and have said publicly they want him back. I think that’s where Nola will sign.
All I see is talk of Atlanta, St. Louis, and Boston. I’ve seen nothing that tells me the Phillies HAVE engaged with Nola.
Read it just a couple days ago. Can’t remember where. The Athletic, MLBTR? Those are the sites besides local (San Francisco) sports I read the most.
Padres can’t have Soto and Snell at the same time.
Soto won’t stay in SD anyway. He doesn’t wanna play under Manny “The Godfather” Machado’s purview any longer.
uh, Soto built a new house in Coronado right next to his good friend Machado.
Every rich mlb player should have a nice house in Coronado now that you mention it. Is it really next to Manny though?? He did it out of respect to “The Godfather” of the team.
literally next door
Lol I believe you but that is still the funniest cr@p I have heard all day. Interesting.
People act like they know what and how players feel lol.
Players feel wanted, and they play where the money is.
Lot of the top FA recently signed for less than the most money offered.
Judge, Turner, Springer, Harper, and Machado come to mind immediately. I am sure if I gave it a moment I would think of others.
Many others have said they took similar money to other offers to play where they wanted.
Its not always about the money.
They couldn’t have Machado, Soto, Tatis, Snell, Darvish, Musgrove, Hader and Bogaerts at the same time either, the rest of the league exclaimed. Except they did. I’m guessing they keep Soto, resign Snell, and Nola (SP) and sign Ohtani
@Brew You high on your own supply!!!
@ignorant, high on baseeeeballll
Blake is high on the CY right about now..
@Brew 88 you liked your own answer, didn’t you?
They did have all those players. Then had to take out a hefty loan to pay their payroll the final month. All reports say they’re looking to cut payroll. Many say they’re listening on Soto. I do expect they’ll make Ohtani an offer and likely make an attempt to resign Snell. But they’re definitely not going with the plan you just stated. I also doubt their offers to Ohtani or Snell are their top offers or the overpays the padres have been doing the past couple years.
the loan was taken out after they paid 2023 payroll brewsing, so what u say? And yes I’ve liked my answer 7 times already
Brew’88, Even if the Padres wanted to do everything you say, odds are highly against it. When was the last time a team signed 3 of the top 5 FAs, let alone re-signed a guy to what’s probably the 2nd biggest all-time deal, after signing another guy to the biggest FA deal ever?
Where does this information come from that the loan was taken out after 2023 player salaries were completed?
Seems to be misinformation repeated on this site because I see the loan was from September and players are paid twice a month (15th and final day) for the entirety of the season, which ended October 16.
Of course Jean I was being deliberately ridiculous
They took out a loan after all payroll was already paid. The Padres are also in the midst of a $20 million construction project inside the stadium, an area we all call the Park at the Park, and they are about to start a $1.5 billion project at an area outside the stadium called Tailgate Park. cisterra.com/tailgatepark The Padres just got final approval to buy the land from the city where Tailgate Park will be developed and they have to come up with $31.5 million to close on it. Real reasons that they have to come up with that money. But they are not NEAR as sensationalistic nor do they get you talking about them like a claim that the Padres are somehow broke then they just had record revenue, enough to push them into being a net revenue sharing payer for the first time in franchise history, had record number of fans come through the gates, pre-sold out season tickets for next season, and increased TV revenue after DSG (known to fans as Ballys) filed bankruptcy.
Yes, I said INCREASED TV revenue. The Padres signed individual contracts with each of the carriers instead of one contract with a middle man (DSG/Ballys) AND they were the first team to be allowed to sell local only MLB.tv packages that were not blocked out. The MLB.TV packages were worth $4 million a month to the Padres. DSG defaulted on just one $9 million payment out of 6 the Padres were owed by DSG and MLB said that they would pay 80% of any money lost by teams if an RSN went bankrupt. Do you REALLY think MLB is stupid enough to allow teams to lose money when they have been at the forefront of TV deals? How do I know that it was a $9 million payment. Bankruptcy proceedings. DSG is owned by a publicly held company so the proceedings are available. You can find them at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. txs.uscourts.gov/page/bankruptcy-court or one of the many sites that archive the docket and audio recordings of the hearings like cases.ra.kroll.com/DSG/Home-Index
Only one report ever claimed the Padres were cutting payroll. Every other article since then has referred to that one article by Kevin Acee of the SDUT. In his very next article Acee himself said that he was wrong about the reason for that claim.
But you free to choose to stay ignorant of what is actually going on in San Diego, or you can listen to the many people from San Diego that have tried to lay out what is actually going on.
Again the question wasn’t answered. The loan was in September but players are paid bi-weekly through October.
All the other stuff isn’t really relevant to the question I asked, which is how could a loan taken out in September possibly be after payroll for the season is complete, which is paid through October?
MLB announced they had approved the $50 million loan while denying the Padres a $100 million loan on September 18th. Same day they announced the death of Dennis D’Agostino. Look at their press releases. We don’t know exactly when the loan was funded other than it was after that time.
Players are not paid in the post season and the final game was October 1st for the Padres. First check of the season is opening day and the final check is September 15th. Players are paid in advance of services as laid out in the CBA. You can down load and read it here – mlbplayers.com/cba
Players are not paid in the postseason. They are paid starting opening day with the last payment mid September. They are paid in advance of services.
They’ve already been listening to offers for Soto, or at least the rumor mill has said so a few times already. Obviously some things are in flux in San Diego due to the sad circumstances, I would bet against San Diego going all in next season however signing Snell long term could fit a perceived window from ownership.
Show me a rumor they are listening to offers on Soto. All anyone has said is the Yankees chef in but no talks since the trade deadline last year.
Oh Soto with that Yankee right field putt.
Google ‘Padres listening on Soto’ and you’ll see this rumor on dozens of sites, including SI, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, MLB.com, Sportsnet.ca, and MLBTR. This rumor has also been reported by Padres-centric sites, like Gaslamp ball and Friars on base. That doesn’t mean they’re shopping him, there’s a big difference between listening and shopping, but clearly they are listening, as they should.
You mix up people reporting they should listen on him vs they are actually listening on him. The only report that comes close is the one saying the padres have internally discussed if they should trade him.
You won’t be able to show me one real report that says they are listening to trade offers.
Give me a quote that says they are listening on offers.
msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/mlb-insider-makes-bold-pr…
msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/mlb-rumors-gm-padres-aj-p…
Haha did you even read those. First one is buster saying they will 100% trade him. Nothing about they are listening to offers. Second one I didn’t even bother to read because I’ve never heard of that site.
You are reaching badly.
If the Padres (or any team for that matter), refuses to even listen to offers on any player, then Preller is a much worse PBO than I thought he might be.
From SNY:
“Preller said during this week’s GM Meetings that they are looking to sign Soto to a long-term deal but are open to trade talks involving the perennial All-Star.”
Not sure how they could be “open to trade talks” without listening.
Listing to offers means they actually have had trade conversations with a team or teams. There aren’t any reports that they are listening to offers for Soto. Zero none.
Will they, probably if they can’t extend him which is what they have said is path number 1.
Appreciate the clarification! Yes it was listening not shopping my utter lack of ability to remember wording got me here! Thanks for the ability to remember better and defend the statement! But again I didn’t mean it was forgone conclusion he was done in SD but like stated they maybe going in a different direction next season.
They also said that the GM’s of the Padres and Yankees never actually spoke. It was back channel checking in to see if he was available.
You will see that rumor on sites that all link back to one source.
You will also see that while the Yankees checked on his availability, the GM’s of the two teams never spoke to each other.
There is a huge difference between a low level FO employee reaching out to see if there is any chance and a GM reaching out and saying what will it take.
Listening to offers does not mean they have had actual trade talks. If the GM/PBO of another team calls with a suggestion for the framework of a trade, and Preller takes the call, then he’s listening. He would be foolish not to. It doesn’t mean that any actual negotiations took place.
Preller himself said short of an extension he’s open to trade talks. That’s listening.
The way you frame it, it’s like Preller refuses to take any call that has to do with Soto. Like AA calls up, offers Acuna and Strider for Soto, but Preller, with his fingers in his ears goes “la la la la, I can’t hear you”.
They way I put it is there are no reports that he has listened to offers. Could he be sure but there are no reports that he has. There is a difference between saying you maybe open to trading him if they can’t extend him and saying they are listening to offers.
Simm14 hours ago
You are reaching badly.
=====================
It is not even a 1% reach. You asked for “Give me a quote that says they are listening on offers.”
I gave you two, and I could probably give you more. Perhaps what you meant to ask was “give me quotes that don’t disagree with me”.
FWIW, I doubt they will trade him, but I gave you exactly, 100%, what you asked for. You remind me of an old boss. He asked me for IRS guidance on an issue, and said it was all BS when the guidance agreed with me.
Listing to offers means they actually have had trade conversations
==========================
It kind of implies it. If I have no intention of selling my Honus Wagner T206, I wouldn’t be listening to offers. The only reason I would listen is if I were considering the idea, however remote the possibility.
Not sure your Honus Wagner card analogy is apt. That card has value that will only increase. It’s different for players. And no matter the personal connection between a GM and a player, there isn’t the pride of possession you probably have for your card.
A lot depends on what is considered trade conversations. If a GM calls another team and asks about the availability of a player, is that a trade conversation, even if the response is negative? What if the response is what are you willing to offer?
Both of those examples happen all the time between clubs. (As fans, we don’t hear any of that, though I wish we did.) Trade negotiations are at an entirely different level. where players are named, added or subtracted, and money is discussed. And even then it’s not unusual for trades to fall apart.
But the point is, there’s no doubt that teams have called Preller asking about Soto’s availability. No one knows what the response has been. But if Preller himself said, short of an extension he’s open to trade offers, he knows which teams are interested and in a general sense what the return might be. He isn’t waiting to find out if Soto can be extended to start exploring trades.
@Pads Fans
So you seem a self-appointed Pad Fan, so I’ll ask you (part of a straw poll):
Your thoughts on AJ Preller as a PBO/overall roster architect are….?
He’s going to the Dodgers. Ohtani to the Padres.
Dodgers should just stay in the bidding to the end but let him go to the Padres or Giants for money north of Rodon. Jack up their competitors payroll
Yeah exactly. Ohtani is like a used BMW amazing car, breaks down often and is very expensive
Would the BMW help the rest of the cars in my garage make it to the podium?
Possibly or it might take up a huge chunk of payroll space.
Dodgers better off signing, Snell, Nerris, and the 2 Japanese players
Turbocharged analogy, belongs in the Winner’s Circle! Top gear comment, nonchalanto
Thank you good sir
Giants are in on everybody once again. Can’t wait to see the 3 year deal they give Tommy Pham.
They need to be in on any of the top 5 SPs on the market, sign one, and then backfill with another 2nd tier starter. The FA position player they need is Bellinger. Nobody really knows what his market will be, but SF needs to be in on him until the end. Also, don’t waste a moment pondering whether to bring back Pederson. He had a bad year that can’t be chalked up to injury. Move on.
Of course the Giants aren’t bringing back Joc. Talk about an overpay! But I think they go all out for Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jung Hoo Lee before Ohtani, Snell, Nola or Bellinger.
This made me laugh…then cry
Giants are going to do whatever it takes for Yamamoto. If that doesn’t happen, Snell might be in their queue.
Make it so Pete!
Giants not doing Slaphappy Pham.
That isn’t the way they do things.
they won’t sign pham – they already said last year he will never be considered in SF after what happened with joc. They view it as a domestic violence issue.
bag o ballz — Anyway, Pham aint movin’ no needle in SF.
@shortstop
You nailed it! Giants will make lots of noise but in the end they crap themselves with something like Pham for 3 years.
Last player Dodgers should pursue.
That was a persuasive argument.
Do the Dodgers pay this site to mention them in every trade rumor?
Headline says Padres, Dodgers and Giants. I guess all three paid to run this article.
Dodgers have money, therefore they’re likely always checking on every top free agent where they have needs. Much as I don’t like big spenders, just the way it works.
Now whenever I see a small market team being reported to have interest in top free agents who are going to cost a fortune, then I’m skeptical
Do the Dodgers pay you to occupy space in your head? Or are they living RENT FREE?
Another boring, uninspired response. Do better.
This will be very hard for you to comprehend but Dodgers flexibility enables them to be in on every big free agent. That doesn’t mean they will actually sign them.
Yeah, that’s obvious. The constant hype, however, is totally unnecessary.
Can’t we just assume Dodger interest on any free agent with a pulse at this point?
Define “pulse”. I’m sure there’s a few lifeless bats that they may not be. But then again they did sign Jason Heyward last year. Though it turned out he did have at least some life left in his bat after all.
Heyward’s bat went from soft groundball to second to actually having some slugging and hitting for a decent batting average. I thought he was cooked when the Cubs let him go last year.
I wouldn’t count on it continuing.
I thought the Padres were broke.
They’re not broke. Just looking to cut some payroll. But some of that will already be off the books with free agents not coming back, and I’d imagine they may non tender a player or two. But I do also think they trade Soto. He’s not extending without an overpay and I think their overpay days are behind them for now.
Man, why do I think Snell will go for like 6 years/$214.5M and live up to the contract for the most part? He just seems like a guy who will quietly live up to any deal he signs.
I’m going with $215.6M, and we’ll see who really gets it right!
Question, is this price is right rules? Or just who’s closest? I’m trying to decide whether to bid over a dollar or not.
You’ll know the rules after the game is over, I promise.
I was thinking they’d get a bargain: 6 yr $214.34 M
TTO
“He just seems like a guy who will quietly live up to any deal he signs.”
50 years $500 billion then
Or your statement is meaningless
Nobody would offer that deal so your statement is meaningless too.
gfan
The meaninglessness of my statement was to point out the absurdity of the previous statement
If Smell will live up too whatever contact given to him, give him an infinitely large contract. He’d be infinitely good
That’s impossible, of course. Which shows that he won’t live up to any contract
Ya I really don’t see your logic so in your honor.
Muted.
gf
Ignoring things you don’t understand it’s exactly how people end up, well, like you
Muted
Says one of the most sensitive people on here…
He just seems like a guy who will quietly live up to any deal he signs.
=======================
So this is what you are picking a fight over?
lol JB
Some pitchers maintain a relatively low profile while still wiining a Cy Young or two and being a consistently good value for their salary.
I think of guys like Zack Greinke, etc.
I will say that Snell seems like a high character guy which is an attribute that some teams also value in addition to him being a really good pitcher. Hope the Giants sign him.
The Padres are interested in Snell Wow!! were they not Interested in him the last 3 seasons then?? Lol
After the Giants don’t get Ohtani, I have them signing Snell and Matt Chapman.
I don’t see the Giants offering as much as Ohtani will command. They might spend that type of money and use it to sign a couple pretty good free agents though, like Snell and Chapman as you mention. “Pretty good” meaning better than mediocre Conforto, Haniger et al from last season.
Cincyfan85 — If Zaidi signs Chapman, he’s lost me forever. Chapman is barely the same offensively as JD Davis but with a whole lot more strikeouts. His glove is good but Davis’ is quite good. Chapman is an overpay on a team that can ill afford another blah player (and an expensive one).
Good points. J.D. had a pretty good year defensively. Don’t really know if Chapman is an over pay until we know how much and who he signs with though.
True, but he’s a very poor fit (roster-wise or money invested-wise) for the Giants.
Looks like Yamamoto prefers West Coast…that would be Giants or Dodgers. So Snell probably not going to whoever signs Yamamoto. RED SOX still in!!! P.S. if Yamamoto signs with Giants prior to Ohtani making decision, could Giants still be in on Ohtani ??? Likewise for Dodgers?
Your question s a good one, one I’ve thought about too. I’d guess the Giants—if they sign Yamamoto first WILL still go after Ohtani. They’ll definitely be in on Jung Hoo Lee. (Bellinger too risky for the money.)
Definitely imo. I’ve got them needing an impact bat more than a premium pitcher.
Pretty good chance that Ohtani is the first to sign, wherever he goes. The entire market hinges on him so the big money teams that are going to be in on him will have to wait until he signs to go after other top FA.
Ohtani is expected to sign by the Winter Meetings in early December if not before.
Farhan is going to be trying to make deals like his job depends on it. Because it does.
If you ignore the 2 year extension that was given to him a couple of weeks ago. I’m guessing they didn’t make that move with a do or die perspective on the off season.
I like that Yamamoto to M’s.
Is Yamamoto related to the WW2 Japanese Admiral?
I have a friend in Japan named Yamamoto and always wanted to ask, but thought it might be uncomfortable.
Dodgers will sign both Ohtani and Yamamoto.
I still don’t think Snell gets the CY. Guy had a 3.22 kwERA compared to Strider’s 1 89 kwERA. Strider is head and shoulders above Snell as a pitcher.
Old York, Snell is a Seattle native, maybe Mariners are dark horse candidate for him? Snell Ohtani ÷ Gurriel wouldn’t be a bad off-season.
Snell has previously said he’d love to play in Seattle. Would be extremely surprised they go in for him (or any other FA starter) unless they decide to trade Gilbert for some controlled bats.
Love Gilbert.
Gilbert… The cartoonist?
Snell grew up near Seattle. Can’t imagine though he’d want to play there too. The NW is depressing with it’s dreary and damp weather.
@Ignorant Son-of-a-b
I picked Ohtani to sign with Seattle, with player options throughout the contract. However, I don’t think Seattle is in a big need for extra starters as they have a decent rotation.
Is this satire? Holy narrative push, I’ve never heard of that stat
zcook
“Holy narrative push, I’ve never heard of that stat”
Luckily, we are not all bound by your ignorance
@zcook508
No, it’s a good beginning Stat to evaluate the pitcher. Not saying it’s perfect but just based on his ability to control what pitchers can, Snell wasn’t really the top pitcher.
Snell is kind of an enigmatic pitcher. He always starts slow, racks up a 5+ ERA the first few months of the season. Then around the fourth of July he starts to get it together. After he reached that point last year, he was more or less unhittable.
This didn’t age well. Snell just got the CY
@Brew’88
It was my opinion and I have no say in the end. I still think Strider deserves the CY.
Strider’s a helluva pitcher, but still not even better than Webb, who finished second.
Old York I have never heard of “kw” ERA in my entire godforsaken life. I guess I have some homework to do so I can “edimicate” myself. (I do a lot of baseball reading too & this has never come up…so if I find that you made this one up as a wisecrack Old York, just remember that revenge is best served cold.) This better not be a wild goose chase….
And you were wrong.
Again.
@Pads Fans
I bet that post boosted your self-pride…
again.
I know I’m right based on the data but the old baseball culture is still stuck on an old stat like ERA to evaluate a pitcher.
I bet you think you are right and that boosted your self pride, but again you were wrong. The biggest question is do you ever get anything right?
I heard he Snells funny.
I had him going to the Phillies. Are they fully off the board?
San Diego loves ya, Snellzilla! Let’s run it back and get some bling for Peter!
Padres won’t sign Snell and will trade Soto if they really want to cut salary. Snell and Nola to Dodgers, Yamamoto to Mets, Montgomery back to Yankees. Stroman may return to Mets or join the Yankees. He is brash and obnoxious but can pitch in a big market.,
Monty or Stro to the Rangers.
The Padres should have extended Snell last summer instead of giving all that money to Yu Darvish.
Takes two to tango and Snell reportedly said he wanted to wait to FA before signing a new deal. Can you blame him? Looks like it worked in his favor too.
I took everything Snell led us all on to believe was “I’m betting on myself” and he made out. Presumably. But I was beating the same drum, Doc. Perhaps the effort wasn’t concerted enough, but all of my assumptions lead me to believe AJ tried. Idk
Snell has also said he would like to return to the padres. Says he loves it there. If they give him a competitive offer he will return.
You might be right. He’s a bit superstitious and has a lot of trust in Niebla, plus I was serious in an earlier post about his interest in more time in the booth. Unfortunately this comment from Don O on Twitter yesterday sure sounds like a goodbye:
“So happy for him and will always appreciate his kindness and friendship”.
Don has no idea if he will return. If anything most expect him to leave so that statement makes sense but he doesn’t have anymore info then us I would suspect.
@DrDan
That is called hindsight.
Snell ain’t coming back…
Poor guy
He has a “decent” shot at winning the CY tonight (per the article) in case anyone was wondering!! HAHAHA!!!!!
P.S
He WON!
Just missed on Harper and Judge? Please…. Let us not get carried away.
Signed Arson though, small victories add up.
Winning the CY Young just raised his price. I wouldn’t mind him on the Dodgers for the right price. Hopefully Friedman doesn’t break the bank on him.
Not really. Winning the CY didn’t change any teams’ internal evaluation. Interested teams all had a value of his worth, and a budget for how high they’d go, before the award, and that didn’t change with the announcement.
Dodgers all in on Ohtani . If they fail maybe Snell and a back of the rotation starter. If they get Ohtani the rest acquired will be scraps.
Hearing that Boras is floating 7/210 as the starting point for negotiations for Snell. Hoping that the Padres are NOT in on him. Much rather have Yamamoto for 9/225. 6 years younger and $5 million less AAV.
Yeah but 2 less CYs… both have their risks attached.
Come on Giants! Make my pick come true… daddy needs a new pair of shoes!
Do you guys understand that if giants get snell they will have 1 and 2 and n cy voting on their staff.. then add ohtani to the mix
Giants will come up short on all the meaningful free agents. Speaking of short I’ve got the Giants signing Stroman.
Do you guys understand that if giants get snell they will have 1 and 2 and n cy voting on their staff.. then add ohtani to the mix.
Sure and if they trade for acuna and betts they will have the 1-2 players to finish in the mvp race as well. Who care about what if’s. Giants have been coming up small when it comes to getting stars.
True. The only thing worse in FA would be coming up big for small results.
You posted it twice but I’ll tell you that ain’t happening just once..
yeah – or they could have signed Gausman when they had the chance – who finished 3rd in cy young
He wanted to sign with the giants – looks really bad letting that guy walk – didnt even make an offer – bad move Farhan
Could this be the giants offseason !? They better go all in on snell and not let him use their offer to get more from dodgers
Snell always looks as if he’s hungover with the puffy eyes or he never gets any sleep.
FA pitchers rarely work out with a few rare exceptions. Cy Snell is not the guy who will earn his next contract.
I couldn’t believe it when I read Snell is 6ft 4in. The dude always comes across to me as this tiny little dude. But I guess not!!! 6’4″ is pretty freaking tall. He is kinda hunched up like Hunchback of Notre Dame when he pitches so perhaps that threw me off.
I realize that most of the readers/posters here do not think wins matter or that it’s a meaningless stat but when was the last time a pitcher with a 14/9 record won a Cy Young award?
Corbin Burnes only won 11 games in 2021
@Brew88
Thanks
Sandy Alcantara last year. That exact W/L.
Robby Ray and Corbin Burnes has less wins than that in 2021.
deGrom had 10 and 11 wins in 2018 and 2019.
baseball-reference.com/awards/cya.shtml
So basically almost every year since wins lost value amongst voters.
@Simms
Thank you for pointing out the fact that the voters devalued wins in determining who the Cy Young winner was for each league. I remember when 20+ wins meant something.
@Pads Fans
Thanks!
Snell said to be looking for a chin to be included in any potential deal
Harsh but perceptive indeed.
Snell just completed the bi-CY-cle. Trikes include quite a group: Seaver, Martinez, Koufax, Kershaw, Scherzer, Verlander. CY award started in 1956.
Last spring, Blake Snell quite openly admitted that the last 4 years of his spring trainings we’re not a strong effort.
He said this year that he wanted to work harder to have a better start.
This guy sounds like he didn’t try for many years. He waited until a walk year to try again.
If the Padres resign him, it is a waste of money. That many walks and not giving up a ton of runs is an anomaly in the history of baseball.
Anybody find it interesting that two of the seven pitchers who won Cy Young awards in both leagues pitched for the Padres?
@CA Yeah, he tried to fix his problem of being repeatedly bad early on in seasons by getting off to an earlier start in training camp. But it didn’t work this year either, in his first 9 starts or so his ERA was about 5.60. Rest of season ERA was an extraordinary 1.32.
A team like the Giants could sign Nola and Snell for just over $50 million combined per season instead of throwing basically the same money all at Ohtani. That would be a very good top 3 starters with Logan Webb.