June 3: As expected, the Giants announced today that Snell has been placed on the 15-day IL with a left groin strain. Outfielder Michael Conforto was reinstated from the IL as the corresponding move.
June 2: Blake Snell’s nightmare of a season looks to be taking him back to the injured list, as the Giants left-hander had to leave today’s start against the Yankees due to left groin tightness. Snell had thrown 4 2/3 innings and the first two pitches of an at-bat against Alex Verdugo before he had to depart after a visit from the team trainer. Speaking with NBC Sports Bay Area and other media post-game, Giants manager Bob Melvin indicated Snell will almost surely be placed back on the 15-day IL, and a fuller timeline might be known when Snell undergoes an MRI tomorrow.
A similar injury led to Snell’s initial IL placement back on April 23, as he ended up missing almost exactly a month of action due to a left adductor strain. Today marked Snell’s third start back in action, and he again didn’t have much success, finishing with three earned runs over his 4 2/3 frames.
The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner now has a 9.51 ERA over 23 2/3 innings since signing a two-year, $62MM free agent deal with San Francisco on March 19. Since Snell didn’t sign until just a week prior to Opening Day, his preseason work consisted of extended Spring Training and simulated games, and the rust has been pretty evident since he made his Giants debut on April 8. It isn’t a stretch to say that these twin groin/adductor injuries might also stem from Snell not being entirely ramped up for the start of his season, though he did look great in his rehab outings while recovering from his previous injury.
Assuming the MRI doesn’t reveal anything more serious, it would seem like Snell is in for at least another month on the sidelines, as both he and the Giants surely want to ensure that this injury is fully dealt with before Snell restarts another round of throwing sessions and minor league rehab starts. Given the calendar, it seems possible that Snell could potentially be out until after the All-Star break, if the Giants wanted to give more time if he wasn’t quite ready by the beginning of July.
Missing more time also has broader implications on Snell’s future in San Francisco, as his contract carries an opt-out clause. The two-year deal was designed to allow Snell to potentially re-enter the market quickly after another strong season, and this time land the more lucrative longer-term pact that eluded him this past winter. However, even if he returns in July in his past form and pitches like an ace the rest of the way, the lackluster first three months might’ve already done enough to reinforce whatever doubts teams have about Snell’s ability to stay healthy. Remaining with the Giants and banking another $30MM in 2025 isn’t exactly an ugly outcome for Snell, but since he’ll be 33 on Opening Day 2026, time is running out for Snell to truly maximize his earning potential.
Only five National League teams have winning records, so the 29-31 Giants still hold the third wild card slot despite all their struggles. The rotation has been an obvious concern, as Logan Webb, Jordan Hicks, and Kyle Harrison have been San Francisco’s only reliable starters — Snell, Keaton Winn, and Mason Black have gotten the majority of other starts and none have pitched well. Winn has also been out of action due to a forearm strain, though he was set for a minor league rehab game on Tuesday.
Since the Giants have an off-days both on Thursday and on June 13, they could keep Winn on his planned rehab schedule because the team wouldn’t need a fifth starter for close to three weeks. Black could also be recalled from Triple-A, and the Giants are still probably at least six weeks away from having Robbie Ray or Alex Cobb as viable candidates to return from the 60-day IL. Ray will pitch in an Arizona Complex League game this week as he continues to rehab his way back from Tommy John surgery, and Cobb has started throwing again after shoulder discomfort led to a shutdown in mid-May.
If the giants can get Ray back and on track and snell does this second half thing I keep hearing about they’ll either have a nice rotation or some enticing trade chips
Can’t think of anyone that would take Snell and that contract.
Switchboard: Angels on line 1.
Scott Boras wiping his hands clean from this. The Scott Boras special.
I pictured the Homer Simpson-walking-away-whistling thing myself.
Shadow
Walking away from what? From what would his hands be dirty?
Boras only cares about top dollar. If I were an Agent I’d want my guy training with his new team sooner than later. It’s logical to think holding out of spring training is a reason for Snells injury
Shadow
“Boras only cares about top dollar. ”
First, you don’t know this. But let’s assume it’s true. If you know it, then wouldn’t you assume the players know it? If the players know it, then which players would sign Boras? The ones most interested in top dollar, no? So, what’s the problem?
“It’s logical to think holding out of spring training is a reason for Snells injury”
What’s logical isn’t always what is true
You have no idea if his holding out is responsible for his injuries
Snell & Boras are totally to blame for missing spring training, lack of preparation, performance & effectiveness and injuries.
Instead of signing before spring training Snell & Boras were too busy chasing the almighty $$$ & contract.
Snell hasn’t helped Giants, been a wasted FA signing & injury riddled SP
Redw
Snell is reasonable for his decision, yes
You have no idea if that decision is responsible for his performance and injuries this year.
He took the normal 6-7 week ramp up and crammed into two weeks, so he could try to pitch a full season and make more money on his next contract.
That comeback today though. Great to be a Yankees fan.
And to think that some other Yankees fans on here thought that throwing big money at Snell was going to fix Cole hitting the IL.
“Snell was going to fix”..Snell needs to throw more strikes. Period. Experienced, disciplined hitters can wait him out, for a mistake or a walk. It was only a matter of time before hitters began to lay off his best pitch, the chase slider in the dirt.
Another overpaid ex-Ray…
This is what worried teams about Snell and why he didn’t get a monster deal. Scherzer, Verlander, Cole, etc don’t have CY young seasons then fall on their faces a year, bounce back, and repeat. They may be a tick of a year here and there but solid pitchers even in down years by their standards. Snell can be dominant or he can be god awful and I’m talking full season awful. If your trying to win a WS in 24 and think a shut down ace could be the difference maker do you slap down that kind of money on a guy who could be worse than your long man out of the bullpen for a year? I would prefer like a Sonny Gay who isn’t as dominant as Snell if both are on top of their game but Geay doesn’t disappear from the map
Teams are going to get smarter and offer short term take it or leave it deal to pitchers. They’ll start looking at pitchers the same way NFL teams look at running backs. 5 or 6 year MLB shelf life, anything longer than that, will be considered an outlier.
Time to que up the boras comparison’s of snell being randy johnson like on the mound, or deserving of over 200m last offseason.
of course nobody fell for it, pretty much omar minaya was the only gm culpable enough to fall for every 1 of boras’s lies with his flops.
Counter argument is if Snell had signed in January and had a normal Spring Training might have avoided the injury bug. Montgomery has been a little better but a 5.48 ERA.
The history of players signing late is not good.
Well, when your supposed closer wants to throw cheese down the middle of the plate, even the A’s should’ve beat them. But other than that, the Yankees are going to be tough to beat.
More like Break Snell amirite
Noice!
I bet you would be shocked to see that last year he made 20 starts of atleast 6 IP or more.
Never got the sense he was a terrible teammate in his 3 years with SD… he would join the broadcast after almost every start for an inning of camaraderie with Mud & Don and often with his teammates playing around in the backgroune and tossing sunflower seeds at him.
meant to reply to “The Big Yo” below.
Blake Smell?
Too much time in the Castro District.
manfredsnewclosetcase
Money well spent hahaha. I wouldn’t give him $2mil a year seriously. He’s looks after him and him alone. Can’t get past 5 innings more than 3 times year. Terrible team mate and the kicker for me was during covid whilst playing games on line live allllllllllll he talked about was money. “Am gettin’, ama get mine!!!” Like he was a gangsta rappa hahaha. He’s the worst double cy winner in the history of baseball
The Big Yo
He’s almost certainly better at his job than you are at yours
And based on this comment, a better pitcher than you are person
Wiffleball
You might not know it. I do
Statistically, it’s almost certain that Snell is a better baseball player than Yo is a car wash attendant (or whatever).
And sure, Yo can like or dislike whoever they want. So can I. Based on what Yo chose to post here and what I know of Snell, I prefer Snell and it’s not close. Same goes for you.
Adios
Soler, Snell, Chapman, Jung Ho-Lee and technically Robbie Ray… multimillions spent on nothing
I am enjoying how well the Royals staff is doing so far this season and they didn’t overdo it on contracts. Just smart with their money.
It’s 1/3 of a season? They’ll ultimately miss the playoffs again.
@fred, I’ve been pretty pleased with Chapman to be honest and soler is about what I thought we would get with him, granted it was an overpay but Farhad had to make a splash this year so overpays were inevitable. The rest I agree on.
Is this going to hurt snell’s chances of winning consecutive cy young awards?
His chances of winning the NL Cy Young are about the same as Javier Baez winning AL Comeback Player of the Year
I’m sure Javy hits a lot of comebackers.
This is the price that most players that skip spring training in hopes of getting a huge payday.
For veteran players that don’t think spring training is important let Snell’s 2024 season be a cautionary tale. For the Giants, I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing but it’s probably a guarantee that Snell won’t opt-out of his contract next winter…
What we know for sure is that he’s injured
Have any Boras 2024 signings done well this year?
Matt Chapman is already at 2.4 WAR this year.
But most of that came in a very small handful of games where he went off. Aside from those he’s had a negative WAR…
Tony
Citation requested
Wiffleball
You’re obviously not the type of individual that is likely to ever say anything I’ll find useful
Adios
Needs to do some more groin work.
Roll around on one of those huge blue balls for a couple minutes. Problem solved.
Next Year he wins the Cy Young.
Spring Training! Spring Training! Spring Training! NO SPRING TRAINING!
Another injury and IL
Snell’s injuries, lack of preparation, and not helping Giants win is all on Snell and Boras. Chasing the almighty $$$ & contract definitely hasn’t led to success
$66M commitment has been wasted $$$ and total disappointment. Snell’s excuses doesn’t make the situation any better
Now he can help change diapers and give wifey a break.
Snell is now perpetually injured
Snell welcome back to Giants in 2025.
All of Boras clients are struggling Pitchers obviously more than the hitters, so maybe next time he has a Pitcher at least he does not hold them out.
Is Snell’s heart in San Francisco?
Seriously beginning to wonder…
“Heart in San Francisco”…Snell’s “heart” is wherever Scott Boras tells him it is. Recently, a few Boras’ clients have been surprised to learn that their heart was actually in Colorado.
Maybe that’s where Pete Alonso’s going.
What an overpaid bust
Disgusting the money he is getting for doing nothing useful
Captain mike
At least you’re making lots of money for your boss for like $15 an hour, or whatever
I tried using that groin injury ploy last night. My gal wasn’t having it. She nearly put my back out of alignment. Must be nice, Baked Snell. Must be real nice.
Dude, it’s usually the other way around, with wifey down with a headache, or whatever. So you should count your blessings before they hatch.
Ignorant
Imagine being here bragging that women lie to avoid having sex with you.
Your partner wanting to have sex with you isn’t a blessing, it’s a normal part of most healthy relationships. If your partner is avoiding that…
That was supposed to be sarcasm, but yeah, taking notes.
Hey Snell, how’s missing spring training working out….
Blake’s got one hell of a paternity leave plan figgured out! Better than Norway’s without the six months of darkness.
Call me a bitter pill, but his espn interview @covid time when he snarked about getting his $ no matter what if/when games were cancelled still smells.
No matter what he felt, that comment+ just was wrong. No amount of of “youth” comment apologists will ever ring true…. Guy is just a me-guy, which is fine in sports, but when you sulk it out there like he did…gross.
Comment to comment, NEVER wish an injury on a guy……EVER. The mercurial talent these guys were blessed with is beyond comprehension to the average person.
Just hope his next employer does a “caveat emptor” type thing….
You should look up mercurial.
Would you perfer duality?
Point was these guys have physical talent, but a ton of them also have HUGE other sides that don’t blend with the talent.
Maybe I was off a bit, but hopefully you can get what I was shooting for…
Point taken.
This is being treated as if it were news or a surprise. Blake Snell doesn’t give a crap about performing well until his contract is up. There are interviews where he actually admits to changing his spring training routine in order to have a better year.
Crikes
Can you support your claim by providing a link to one of those interviews, please.
The snarky filihok rises again.
Thank god for the mute button !
Another overpaid ex-Ray…
Snell may have been terrible in yesterday’s game, but I’m pretty sure he lowered his ERA in the process. There’s that.
Blake Snell: The speed of Frank Thomas combined with the fielding prowess of Miguel Cabrera combined with closet-case level of ken griffey jr (well, almost).
Well at least you are out of the closet manfred
I knew this guy was going to get hurt. He was more interested in holding out for that last dollar, rather than actually getting to camp on time, and maybe being an asset to whatever team signed him.
Melvin :
Look Blake, if you give up some early runs and don’t feel like Blake again, here’s the plan; Fake another groin injury and we will put you on the short IL so you can have another maternity leave.
I mean, this is no real surprise. Most of us knew Snell only really has had two great seasons. Now he’s facing regression from his last season where he hasn’t even reached 200 innings
Boras should have left some cash on his dresser after that pounding he gave him last winter.
I told everyone that would listen but unfortunately the giants refused to. He is alllllllll about himself. Didn’t deserve either of his cy young’s and is simply a horrible team player. When he talks he sounds like a wannabe GANGSTAAAA. And looks like he has insomnia
Yeah, true nightmare season for Snell – $32MM to contribute, literally, nothing to the Giants. Must be awful.
Could have probably had 3 times that if Boras wouldn’t have played corpse during free agency.
Hard to blame Farhan for this. I (most of us) were pumped to sign Snell. Turns out this might be this worst signing in giants history…at least over a one year period. Side note; Soler has to be thankful for Snell otherwise, he’d be next for worst signing.
If Snell and Boras were betting on themselves with their nonsense in the offseason, they just rolled craps. This gamble is not going to pay off.
During the off season I had the feeling lots of GMs would be happy with Blake Snell being somebody else’s problem.
Giants are uninspiring! What an atrocious start to this season, although we shouldn’t be surprised. The Zaidi era has been a trainwreck. It’s probably the karma we deserve after letting Zaidi force Bochy into retirement. How stupid does that move look right about now. SF just does things that loser teams do. In the AZ game Giants have bases loaded no out & the next 3 guys do the following: pop out to 2nd, strike out in 3 pitches, & fly out. Perfect! What a joke. Then Harrison has an 0-2 count to a guy but then serves a fastball right down the middle of the plate. Blown 9th inning games, the offense sucks, & Bob Melvin & Farhan is who we’re supposed to believe in? Put a fork in me, we’re done