Report: 6 Teams Passed On Chance to Acquire Blake Snell

He's a two-time Cy Young winner, who had demonstrated in four consecutive games that he was back on form heading to the trade deadline. But according to baseball insider Jon Heyman, no less than six teams passed on the opportunity to trade for San Francisco Giants' ace Blake Snell by July 30th. 

Why? 

According to Heyman in the New York Post, Snell was "there for the taking", but the New York Yankees, for one, were "worried about (Snell's) $30M player option" for next season. 

Obviously, after his no-hitter last week, culminating in a five-start run where he posted a 0.55 ERA, that player option that Snell had built into his contract is a complete non-factor. In fact, Heyman says that two rival GMs said at this point it would take a “catastrophic” or “debilitating” injury for Snell to exercise it. 

Blake Snell....NO HITTER!! 🍾 pic.twitter.com/wi60sJc9Td

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 3, 2024

Instead, he'll be headed back out onto the free agent market, where his agent Scott Boras, who failed to land him a big deal last winter after a Cy Young season, will try once again to reel in a huge long-term contract in the hundreds of millions of dollars. 

The other teams that had a chance to land Snell in talks with the Giants, but likely had similar concerns about the potential $30 million owed for 2025, included the Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers. 

The Dodgers pivoted and landed a Cy Young contender in the AL before he was dealt, Jack Flaherty, more than a consolation prize, while the O's brought in Zach Eflin and Trevor Rogers (those are consolation prizes), while none of those other teams brought in a starter.