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Free Agent Profile: Blake Snell would give the Blue Jays an ace lefty in their rotation that they haven’t had since Robbie Ray
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Photo credit: © Stan Szeto - USA Today
Ryley Delaney
Nov 12, 2024, 07:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 29, 2024, 00:37 EST
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The Toronto Blue Jays could be interested in a two-time Cy Young winner.
Last Wednesday, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand listed the Blue Jays as one of Blake Snell’s top suitors. Two days before that, The Athletic’s Will Sammon and Katie Woo reported that the Jays could be interested in Snell depending on his price tag.
That begs the question, how did Snell perform in 2024, what does his potential contract look like, and is he a fit for the Blue Jays? Let’s find out.

Blake Snell’s stats

Snell’s 2024 season was filled with injuries. After his first three starts, he hit the Injured List for over a month. He had another three starts before another month-long trip to the Injured List, before finally returning for good to throw five innings of one-hit baseball against the Blue Jays on July 9.
It was a solid season for Snell all things considered, as he had a 3.12 ERA and a 2.43 FIP in 104 innings pitched, along with a 34.7 K% and a 10.5 BB%. However, it wasn’t nearly as good as his National League Cy Young winning season the year before, where he had a 2.25 ERA and a 3.44 FIP in 180 innings pitched, along with a 31.5 K% and a 13.3 BB%.
Even that wasn’t his best season though, as the left-handed pitcher had a 1.89 ERA and a 2.94 FIP in 180.2 innings pitched with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018, winning the American League Cy Young.
One word to describe Snell throughout his career would be “consistent”. In 1096.2 innings pitched, the 31-year-old has a 3.19 ERA and a 3.35 FIP, with a 30.2 K% and a 10.9 BB%.

Blake Snell’s contract outlook

One thing is certain after opting out of his two-year, $62 million deal – Snell is going to get paid this season.
The Athletic’s Jim Bowden predicts he’ll earn a three-year deal worth $105 million, with the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, and San Francisco Giants potentially being interested in his services.
According to Spotrac, Snell has a market value of $26.3 million. Comparable contracts are Sonny Gray’s three-year, $75 million deal, Carlos Rodón’s six-year, $162 million deal, Zack Wheeler’s three-year, $126 million deal, and Aaron Nola’s seven-year, $172 million deal.
Bowden also has Patrick Corbin’s six-year, $140 million deal, Tyler Glasnow’s five-year, $136.5 million deal, and José Berríos’ seven-year, $131 million deal as comparable contracts. Moreover, Snell doesn’t have the loss of a draft pick attached to his signing as he did last season, meaning more teams will be interested in signing him.

Is Blake Snell a fit for the Blue Jays

The Blue Jays have five real candidates for the 2025 rotation, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt, Kevin Gausman, Bowden Francis, and Yariel Rodríguez. However, the Jays want to push the latter into the bullpen and lack a left-handed starter in the rotation.
Enter Snell, who not only gives you a left-handed starter for the rotation, but a really good one at that. In his two seasons where he’s started 30 or more games, Snell has won his league’s Cy Young Award.
A bat is a bigger priority than a starter, but if they can sign a guy like Snell and say, Anthony Santander, that’s a pretty good off-season if they also pick up a handful of solid relievers.
As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

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