Blake Snell already figured to be in line for a lucrative contract this offseason with the likes of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants and more teams in the market for starting pitching.
Snell’s value presumably increased with Tuesday’s announcement of being the 2023 National League Cy Young Award winner. Snell is widely considered the best starter available, or just behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is expected to be posted for MLB free agency by the Orix Buffaloes within the next few days.
During an appearance on MLB Network, Jon Heyman said the Dodgers, Padres and Giants are the teams with the most interest in signing Snell at this juncture in free agency:
“Right now we’re looking at the Padres, the Dodgers who I just referenced needing pitching, the Giants are in on everything. They’re really not happy with the fact they’ve had two mediocre years in a row after that one great year a few years ago. They’re going big. So I think the Giants, Dodgers, Padres, all in on him. Let’s not count out the Phillies. They need to get a big pitcher. They certainly will get a big pitcher. They’re talking to Aaron Nola first, but big gap right now with Nola.”
The 30-year-old went 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over a career-high 32 starts this past season.
Shell led all qualified NL starting pitchers in ERA, ERA+ (182) and hits per nine innings (5.75). He additionally issued the most walks in the Majors at 99, but offset those by collecting 234 strikeouts that were second-most in the NL and an MLB-best .152 opponents’ batting average with runners in scoring position.
Overall, Snell held opponents to a .079 batting average on his curveball, .123 against the slider, .185 against his changeup and .255 on the fastball.
Blake Snell two Cy Young Awards
Snell became the seventh pitcher in MLB history to win a Cy Young Award in American League and National League. The group also includes Gaylord Perry, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, Roy Halladay and Max Scherzer.
Snell’s first Cy Young was won with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018.
This year, Snell received 28 first-place votes and two for second place. He easily finished ahead of Giants’ Logan Webb and Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen for the award.
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