SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Blake Snell passed his physical Tuesday and, by the end of the San Francisco Giants’ Cactus League nightcap against the Kansas City Royals, was in uniform and on the bench in the home dugout at Scottsdale Stadium.
Snell was introduced over the loudspeakers between the first and second innings to cheers from the strong crowd on hand, the two-time Cy Young winner’s free-agent deal becoming official moments before first pitch. He spent the game chatting with his new teammates and coaches, one particularly long conversation with assistant pitching coach J.P. Martinez, before he is formally introduced at a news conference Wednesday morning.
The 31-year-old left-hander can earn up to $62 million over the next two seasons but also has the ability to opt out and return to the free-agent market next winter. He will earn a $15 million salary in 2024 with an additional $17 million signing bonus payable on January 15, 2026. If he opts in for 2025, he would earn a $30 million salary, with half of it deferred until July 1, 2027.
By adding Snell, the Giants’ estimated payroll now exceeds the first threshold of the Competitive Balance Tax. While the official figure is calculated at the end of the season, Snell’s salary brings the Giants’ payroll obligations to $252 million, according to Cot’s Contracts, which would make them a tax-payor for the first time since 2017.
They would required to pay a 20% fee for any dollar spent over $237 million.
With the additions of Snell and Matt Chapman, who were both extended qualifying offers, the Giants have also sacrificed their second- and third-round picks in this summer’s amateur draft, as well as $1 million of their international bonus pool allotment.
Snell is set to be introduced Wednesday at 10 a.m. alongside president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, manager Bob Melvin and his agent, Scott Boras.