Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a two-year, $62 million contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Monday night.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement is subject to a successful physical. Snell has the right to opt out after this season and become a free agent.
Snell gets a $17 million signing bonus payable in January 2026 and a $15 million salary. He would get $30 million if he keeps the contract for 2025.
A 30-year-old left-hander, Snell is 71-55 with a 3.20 earned-run average in 191 starts over eight major league seasons, winning Cy Youngs in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays and last year with the San Diego Padres.
Snell joins a San Francisco team that has made a huge splash in the free-agent market. The Giants gave South Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee a six-year, $113 million contract, sjgned right-handed pitcher Jordan Hicks to a four-year, $44 million deal, and outfielder Jorge Soler to a three-year $42 million contract, and then gave third baseman Matt Chapman a three-year, $54 million deal.
The Giants also have a new manager, former San Francisco catcher Bob Melvin, who managed Snell with the Padres the past two seasons.
Tampa Bay selected Snell with the 52nd pick in the 2011 amateur draft, and he reached the major leagues in 2016. He won his first Cy Young in 2018, edging Justin Verlander after going 21–5 with a 1.89 ERA.
He and the Rays subsequently agreed to a five-year, $50 million deal, the largest at the time for a pitcher not yet eligible for arbitration. He was 6–8 with a 4.29 ERA in 2019, a season in which he was hampered by injuries.
Snell received some unwanted attention before the 2020 pandemic-shortened season when he stated “I’m not playing unless I get mine,” referring to his salary. Snell later admitted that the statement could be seen as selfish.
Snell helped the Rays reach the 2020 World Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. He was removed from Game 6 after 5 1/3 innings despite having given up just two hits, and the Rays eventually lost 3–1.
Tampa Bay traded Snell to San Diego for prospects. He went 15–16 in his first two seasons with the Padres, then went 14–9 and posted a National League-leading 2.25 ERA and won his second Cy Young. He was 8–2 with 1.54 ERA during the second half of last season.
San Diego will receive an extra draft pick after the fourth round of this year’s draft as compensation after making Snell a $20.325 million qualifying offer that he turned down. The Giants will give up their third-round pick and $500,000 in international signing bonus allocation after having lost their second-round selection and $500,000 in allocation for signing Chapman.
