The San Francisco Giants are reportedly pursuing a pair of stars, two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell and third baseman Matt Chapman, and reportedly have a “50-50” chance of signing at least one.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday that multiple sources indicate the Giants remain in on both free agents.
The interest in Snell is obvious, as any team with the money to spare would welcome the ace to their staff. The 31-year-old lefty led MLB with a 2.25 ERA last season and was expected to command a huge multiyear deal. But with spring training underway, contract demands change and there’s speculation he will now settle for a short-term contract. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported Snell spoke with the New York Yankees Monday.
The interest in Chapman comes as a surprise, given the Giants already have a good third baseman in J.D. Davis, who hit 18 home runs with a 103 OPS+ in 2023. But Chapman, a four-time Gold Glove winner, would be a big improvement on defense at the hot corner. He also played for new Giants manager Bob Melvin with the Oakland Athletics.
Giants fans are ready to see a deal get done for Snell.
Blake Snell (as advised by Scott Boras) is open to a relatively shorter-term deal with a higher AAV. That’s music to the ears of the #SFGiants front office. I’ll take Slusser’s reported chances of a deal getting done at 50-50 given we’re already in camp
Get it done, #Farhan!
https://t.co/kRTLsqfevS pic.twitter.com/uyVGhAiwQm — Conrado Pascual (@CP3_777) February 27, 2024
This is, I would say, the most direct indication we’ve gotten all offseason that the Giants are legitimately in the hunt for these guys rather than being heavily speculated/merely “interested” https://t.co/GE4fsIc2uW
— Jon Becker (@jonbecker_) February 27, 2024
Chapman probably gets the firmest deal of the Boras guys due to age/profile. Let’s say you get a 6 year 26 AAV deal, move another contract and you can do a front loaded deal with opt outs for Snell and dodge the apron.
Still guessing it’s just Chapman and Snell goes east. https://t.co/E4Ii2EJx7I
— justin
(@jdotold24) February 27, 2024
And here is the reason why Boras is trying to involve the Yankees… to drive up the price for SF https://t.co/3XEBddDz38
— Thom Sparx (@FireNFury789) February 27, 2024
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.