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While some big names flew off the market in MLB free agency this past offseason, that wasn’t the case for everyone, and one guy who endured a very lengthy free agency was Blake Snell. The reigning National League Cy Young winner eventually signed a two-year, $62 million contract with the San Francisco Giants, but he had to wait until March 19th, which was just over a week before the start of the season, to land that deal.
The good news is that Snell should be taking the mound for San Fran sooner rather than later, but it’s clear that his market did not develop the way he wanted it to. In fact, not only is that true, but it’s also been reported that Snell would have rather signed with the Los Angeles Angels in free agency. The problem was that the team never made an official offer to him in free agency, which forced Snell to sign elsewhere.
“Snell, who signed a two-year, $62 million contract with the Giants just before the end of camp, was actually hoping to sign with the Angels, but an offer never came through. His only two formal offers before signing with the Giants came from the New York Yankees in February when they offered a five-year deal for about $115 million, and the Houston Astros (two years, $42 million) in March.” – Bob Nightengale, USA Today
Should the Angels have made an offer to sign Blake Snell?
As Snell’s free agency progressed, it became clear that his market was wide open, meaning any team could have realistically come in and signed him. Despite that, rumors suggested his preferred landing spot was the Angels, as they had a big need for starting pitching, especially after they lost Shohei Ohtani to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Angels are likely plotting out some sort of rebuild (which is long overdue) and that resulted in them passing on Snell. However, it’s worth wondering whether or not they should have made a play to sign him. LA obviously needs some pitching, and if Snell wanted to sign with them, they may have been able to land him at a price cheaper than the $62 million over two years that the Giants just handed him.
Without Snell, the Angels starting rotation is being led by Patrick Sandoval, Griffin Canning, and Reid Detmers, which isn’t exactly a star-studded group. Los Angeles certainly could have used an ace, and given how Snell wasn’t exactly hiding his desire to sign with them, it’s a bit surprising they didn’t even make an offer to him.
However, the Angels need to rebuild their roster, which makes signing Snell less of a priority. If they aren’t building a contender, what’s the point in going out and signing one of the best pitchers in the league and letting him waste away on your roster? From a contending purpose, Snell made the right choice to sign with the Giants, but it’s interesting to see that his preferred landing spot didn’t even make him a contract offer.
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