When the San Francisco Giants signed Blake Snell to a contract with an opt-out clause after the first year, it was assumed that he might leave the club as a free agent.
About nine months later, it looks like he's doing just that.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported over the weekend that Snell will “invoke his opt-out clause,” meaning the Giants have some work ahead of them in finding a replacement or re-signing him.
“Giants star Blake Snell will invoke his opt-out clause after a terrible first half, having posted a 2.08 ERA with 63 strikeouts and a no-hitter in his last eight starts. One thing is for sure: Snell won't wait until spring training to sign this time.”
It's hard to get a sense of what he might get as a free agent.
Having already won his second Cy Young Award and his market not being as large as many in the industry expected, the question is whether this time will be different.
One thing is for sure, though, and as Nightengale hinted, is that he probably won't wait until spring training to sign this offseason.
If the left-hander actually returns to the open market, many competing teams will likely be interested in his services.
Bleacher Report recently compiled the top 10 landing spots for San Francisco's star and included the Los Angeles Dodgers among those teams.
The Dodgers finished fourth, just ahead of the Giants in fifth place.
Not only would losing Snell be a huge blow to San Francisco's rotation, but losing him to a rival from the same division and state would be a huge problem.
As Los Angeles has shown in recent offseasons, the ownership group is willing to spend as much as necessary to put together a competitive team.
After struggling for a long time earlier this season, the Seattle native has been excellent in recent games, having a 3.76 ERA and striking out 106 hitters in 79 innings pitched.
There is always the possibility that he will return to the Giants.
San Francisco has been willing to spend money most of the past few winters, so finances shouldn't be too much of an issue, but if they get involved with some of the other top free agents on the market, it might make sense to let him go.
Whether this is the right decision will become clear in the coming months.
