Snell focused on finishing 2024 strong, not future

SAN FRANCISCO -- Matt Chapman and Blake Snell each endured prolonged free agencies before signing late deals with the Giants in March. Both were expected to have the chance to opt out at the end of the year, though Chapman turned down an opportunity to return to the open market by agreeing to a six-year, $151 million contract extension on Wednesday night.

Chapman’s new deal will keep the four-time Gold Glove winner in San Francisco through the 2030 season, but Snell’s future with the organization remains unclear.

Even after lasting only one inning in the Giants’ 3-2 walk-off win over the D-backs on Thursday afternoon at Oracle Park, Snell appears well positioned to cash in on his monster second half and seek out the long-term deal that eluded him last winter.

Unlike Chapman, Snell seems likely to try to maximize his value by re-entering free agency, though he said he would be willing to discuss a possible extension with the Giants.

“A deal would be nice, but I think just finishing the season strong, focusing on that is probably most important to me,” Snell said. “If that’s something they want to talk about, I’m always open to it. I’ve enjoyed my time here a lot. I know fans have been hounding me about it. But truthfully, it's up to them. I have nothing but good things to say about San Francisco.”

Neither Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi nor agent Scott Boras -- who represents both Chapman and Snell -- offered much insight when asked whether there had been any conversations between the two sides about a new deal for the reigning National League Cy Young winner.

“I’m sure that in any of these things, every organization wants to do what’s best for them,” Boras said. “Much like with Matt, when teams reach out, we respond. Obviously the biggest and most important thing is when players play well somewhere, you have to really pay attention to it. I do. Because we want players to play well and do well. I think those are very attractive dynamics about why you would want players in certain situations.”

Snell earned NL Pitcher of the Month honors following a dominant August that was highlighted by his first career no-hitter, but he struggled to keep that momentum going upon returning to the mound in September, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits while walking two and striking out two in his shortest outing of the season on Thursday.

The D-backs capitalized on two defensive miscues to force Snell to throw 42 pitches and prevent him from pitching past the first inning. After Geraldo Perdomo led off with a single and Corbin Carroll walked, Josh Bell hit a grounder to short that was fielded by Tyler Fitzgerald, who made an errant throw while trying to get the forceout at second base. The ball ended up getting past Brett Wisely and rolling into foul territory, allowing Perdomo to score from second and put Arizona on the board.

Snell nearly minimized the damage after retiring Christian Walker and Randal Grichuk, but he issued a two-out walk to Eugenio Suárez to load the bases. That brought up Jake McCarthy, who struck out swinging on a 97.2 mph fastball but ended up reaching first base on a passed ball by catcher Patrick Bailey. Carroll also came home on the play, extending the D-backs’ lead to 2-0.

“We didn’t play defense very well behind [Snell],” manager Bob Melvin said. “That kind of added up. Obviously, we dropped strike three and don’t make a play. Those things that tend to spiral in the first inning. A lot of times, a starter is not quite in rhythm in the first and then we don’t make some plays for him. The next thing you know, he’s got 42 pitches.”

Given his high pitch count, the Giants opted not to send Snell back out to the mound in the second and instead turned to rookie Landen Roupp, who worked four scoreless innings to keep San Francisco within striking distance.

“Just too many pitches,” Snell said. “It’s not smart to go back out. I’ve done it before, but I’ve never felt good after. It’s a lot of risk and not a lot of reward.”

Bailey made up for his first-inning mistake by driving in each of the Giants’ three runs, delivering a two-run, game-tying single off Merrill Kelly in the fourth inning before winning the game in the bottom of the ninth. After Fitzgerald singled and stole second, Bailey drove him in by lining a fastball from Kevin Ginkel into the left-center-field gap for a walk-off ground-rule double, allowing the Giants to avoid a three-game sweep by the D-backs.

Bailey entered Thursday batting only .123 with a .299 OPS over 33 games in the second half, so he’s hoping his clutch performance will help break him out of his extended slump and finish strong.

“It felt good,” Bailey said. “The last month-and-a-half hasn’t gone as I would wish, but I’ve felt a lot better the last couple of days and the last couple of games.”