The Yankees and Padres are two of the teams expressing interest in left-hander Blake Snell, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman writes. Reports surfaced earlier this week that Snell was drawing interest from pitching-needy contenders and New York and San Diego are the first clubs specifically known to gotten in touch with the Giants over Snell’s availability.
It remains to be seen if the Giants will actually move Snell or be deadline sellers in any real capacity given that the team is still just 4.5 games out of a wild-card berth. Snell is himself a major factor in San Francisco’s renewed hopes of contention, as the southpaw has been almost untouchable since returning from the injured list. Over his last four starts, Snell has a 0.75 ERA and a 35.7% strikeout rate, highlighted by a 15-strikeout gem of an outing against the Rockies on Saturday.
This is the type of rotation-carrying production was what the Giants were hoping to receive when they signed the reigning Cy Young Award winner to a two-year, $62M deal back in March. However, Snell’s lengthy stint in free agency and subsequent lack of proper spring training work wreaked havoc on his performance, resulting in two IL stints (with an adductor strain and a groin strain) and a 9.51 ERA over his first six starts in a Giants uniform.
This recent injury history will obviously weigh on the minds of any team that does approach the Giants about a Snell trade, not to mention the fact that Snell can opt out of the second year (and $30M salary) of his contract. The presence of this opt-out clause means that Snell isn’t exactly a rental player, thus creating extra financial risk for an acquiring team and some difficulty in working out an acceptable trade package with San Francisco. Snell’s recent form increases the chances that he might exercise his player option, but if any more injury issues arise, Snell could pass on his opt-out and remain on the books for that hefty $30M payday next year.
Snell is naturally a known quantity to the Padres after pitching with San Diego from 2021-23, but the financial aspect of a Snell trade is particularly noteworthy for a Padres team that is trying to remain under the luxury tax threshold this season, in order to reset its penalty status after two years of overages. San Diego’s acquisition of Jason Adam from the Rays earlier Sunday resulted in a pretty minor financial hit, though the Padres had to give up a hefty prospect package to obtain the reliever. Payroll aside, there is also the broader fact that it seems rather unlikely that the Giants would trade Snell to a division rival.
The Bronx Bombers have long had Snell on their radar and the six-year, $150M offer Snell reportedly received from the Yankees in January is the highest contract known to be on the table for the left-hander during his elongated stay on the free-agent market. As Heyman notes, the luxury tax is also a factor given that New York has already topped the upper tier ($297M) of tax penalties. RosterResource estimates that the Yankees’ Competitive Balance Tax number is just shy of $312.9M and thus they would face a 110% tax on any further salaries added to their ledger.