Snell becomes free agent after opting out of contract
As expected, Snell is a free agent for the second straight offseason. The left-hander exercised the opt-out clause in his two-year, $62 million deal with the Giants on Friday, putting him back on the open market. Last season started off poorly for Snell, who didn't sign with the Giants until mid-March and recorded a 9.51 ERA through his first six starts and made two trips to the injured list.
But over the final three months of the season, he looked like the pitcher who won the 2023 National League Cy Young Award with San Diego. Snell pitched to a 1.23 ERA over his last 80 2/3 innings, limited hitters to .382 OPS and racked up 114 strikeouts.
According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, Snell is a top-three free agent in this year's class. The Giants, Padres and Rangers are among the potential fits for Snell, who will turn 32 on Dec. 4. He is hoping to sign earlier this time and believes he has shown enough to avoid languishing on the open market for another offseason.
“I think that was more on teams,” Snell said in late September. “That wasn’t on me. I also think what I was able to accomplish this year will make teams be more aggressive earlier, so I’ll be looking forward to that. We’ll see.”