Cy Young Ace of the San Francisco Giants is officially a free agent after being waived

The San Francisco Giants are officially heading into the offseason with news Friday afternoon that their superstar and two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell has exercised his waiver clause and has officially become a free agent, according to a report from USA Baseball Writer Today by Bob Nightengale. .

Snell’s move didn’t come as much of a surprise and was apparently widely expected, even though agreeing to it would have meant he would have been paid $38.5 million in 2025 in the second year of the two-year contract he signed with Giants last winter. Snell had a disastrous start to his contract and was on the injured list for a time, but throughout the season he was virtually untouchable and looked like his old self.

After a strong finish to the season, Snell’s decision to hit the open market again certainly isn’t shocking considering he is represented by Scott Boras, who has always been known for pushing his clients to hit the open market whenever possible. If the entire season had gone the same way as it did at the beginning, he likely would have received guaranteed money. Snell posted an 11.57 ERA over three starts in April and an 8.59 ERA over two starts in May.

However, by July, Snell was back to splitting lineups with a 0.75 ERA in four starts, a 1.64 in August in six starts, and a 1.00 in four starts in September, miraculously finishing the season with a 3.12 ERA for the year as a whole. . This came on the heels of a 2023 career season with the Padres in which Snell won his second Cy Young Award.

Without a doubt, someone will likely offer the ace either a shorter-term contract with similar AAV but beyond the 2025 season, or even the possibility of a nine-figure mega-deal for the remainder of his productive years. Snell turns 32 in December and has proven he has plenty left in him, so it will be interesting to see how aggressively San Francisco pursues his return.