SAN FRANCISCO -- Has Blake Snell made his final start for the Giants?

That was the prevailing question after the Giants announced that Snell would not make his scheduled start against the Cardinals in Saturday afternoon's eventual 6-5 win, officially ending his 2024 campaign and possibly his tenure in San Francisco. Snell said he decided not to pitch since the game carried no playoff implications for either side, creating an opening for Tristan Beck to make his first start of the year.

“I wanted to pitch as long as we were going to be in it and had a shot,” Snell said. “We played playoff teams, so I wanted to face them as well. Not playing a playoff team, this game has no meaning. I think it was probably the best case. If they were a playoff team, then I’d be pitching. Just [for] the integrity of the game and trying to make sure that I give my all. If I have a chance to ruin someone’s playoff hopes, I would love to do that.”

Snell, 31, is now widely expected to opt out of the final year of the two-year, $62 million deal he signed with the Giants in March and re-enter free agency, where he’ll attempt to land the long-term contract that never materialized for him last offseason. He’s hoping he’ll have a more robust market this winter, as he rebounded from an injury-marred first half to go 5-0 with a 1.23 ERA and 114 strikeouts over 80 1/3 innings in 14 starts after returning from a left groin strain on July 9.

Snell would like to avoid signing late again this offseason, as he wasn’t physically ready after missing virtually all of Spring Training this year and ended up landing on the injured list twice due to the groin issue. He recorded a 9.51 ERA over his first six starts of the year before his stellar second-half run allowed him to whittle that figure down to 3.12 on the season.

“It was good,” Snell said. “I learned a lot. I liked, early on, the failures, but I also knew I wasn’t ready, too. Knowing that, still going out, trying to compete, continuing to hurt my groin, trying and then realizing, ‘You need to go at your pace. Slow down. Stop trying to be a superhero.’ Once I figured that out, slowed down, made sure I was ready, that’s when I learned a lot. I knew I was really close. I started putting together some good starts. I finished strong. I finished how I know I can pitch. But yeah, definitely looking forward to having a Spring Training. That’s all I can think about.”

Snell, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, believes he showed enough sustained dominance to avoid languishing on the open market for the second straight year.

“I think that was more on teams,” Snell said. “That wasn’t on me. I also think what I was able to accomplish this year will make teams be more aggressive earlier, so I’ll be looking forward to that. We’ll see.”

President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has said retaining Snell will be a “priority” for the Giants, though he noted that the ace left-hander will likely have plenty of suitors this winter.

“He’s been the best pitcher in baseball the second half of the season,” Zaidi said. “I just think he’s going to go into free agency kind of the same way he did last offseason. He wants to keep an open mind. We’re very encouraged about what he said about being here, how much he likes being here, how much he’s enjoyed his time in San Francisco. How much he likes playing for [manager] Bob [Melvin]. I think we’ll be pretty high on his list. But I think we’re respecting the fact that he’s going to want to play out free agency. I expect us to be part of that. But I think this should be very competitive with the way he’s pitched.”

Snell reiterated that he’s enjoyed his time in San Francisco and believes the Giants have a bright future despite missing the playoffs for the third straight year. He hopes to continue to be part of the equation heading into next season.

“I love it here,” Snell said. “I think we can be really, really good. I see a lot of promise. I enjoyed being here. We’ll see what happens. I don’t like the whole having to decide and do all that. I just want to be somewhere that wants me, that loves me and will invest in me to be the best player that I can be to help them win. I like it here. I hope it’s here.”