The agreement puts an end to Snell’s difficult free agency with agent Scott Boras and comes only ten days before the regular season begins. Prior to the winter, Snell ranked No. 4 among free agents according to Yahoo Sports’ top-25 list. The Houston Astros, New York Yankees, and Los Angeles Angels were reportedly all interested in Snell; nevertheless, he ended up signing with San Francisco, according to several sources.
Snell, 31, recently had a comeback year that earned him his second Cy Young Award of his career. In 180 innings thrown in 2023, he recorded a 1.189 WHIP and an NL-best 2.25 ERA with 234 strikeouts. He led the National League in hits allowed per nine innings with 5.9.
Snell has a four-pitch repertoire that is led by a fastball in the upper 90s that is utilized in conjunction with a slider, curveball, and changeup to induce strikeouts. Despite giving up an NL-leading 99 walks last season, his strong strikeout rate helped him limit the harm.
His 2018 season’s ERA was the lowest since his 2018 Cy Young campaign with the Tampa Bay Rays. He had the best AL ERA of 1.89 that year.
