San Francisco Giants They’re officially in the offseason, marked Friday afternoon with the news that the two-time superstars have become Cy Young starters. Blake Snell He has exercised his opt-out clause and is officially a free agent, a USA Today baseball columnist reports Bob Nightingale.

It was a not-so-surprising move by Snell and one that was apparently widely expected, but one that would see him get $38.5 million in 2025 in the second year of the two-year deal he signed with the Giants last winter. Snell had a disastrous start to the contract and spent some time on the injured list, but he was nearly unhittable this season and looked like his old self.

After a strong run to finish the season, Snell’s decision to enter the open market once again is certainly not shocking considering he is represented by Scott Boras, who is infamous for always pushing his clients to enter the open market whenever possible. If the entire season had gone the same way from the start, he probably would have gotten the guaranteed money. snell sent 11.57 ERA in three starts in April and 8.59 ERA in two starts in May.

But until July Snell immediately returned to carving up opposing lineups with a 0.75 ERA in four starts, 1.64 in six starts in August, and 1.00 in four starts in September, and miraculously finished the season with a 3.12 for the entire year. This came on the heels of his career season in 2023. pedres This saw Snell win his second Cy Young award.

No doubt, someone will likely offer the ace the prospect of either a shorter-term deal with a similar AAV but beyond the 2025 season, or a nine-figure mega-deal for the remaining productive years of his career. Snell turns 32 in December and has proven he still has plenty left in the tank; so it will be fascinating to watch how aggressively San Francisco tries to bring him back.