Blake Snell was one of the top-tier starting pitchers who remained unsigned until deep in spring training before he finally signed a two-year, $62 million deal with the San Francisco Giants. So far, nothing has gone as planned for Snell in San Francisco and things only managed to get worse on Sunday when he left their game against the New York Yankees due to injury.
Snell was lifted from Sunday’s game in the fifth inning – in the middle of an at-bat – due to tightness in his left groin. It is the second time this season he has had to deal with a similar issue.
He is expected to undergo an MRI this week, with manager Bob Melvin saying after the game he doesn’t see how this doesn’t result in an IL stop for Snell.
Snell has only appeared in six games this season and has yet to pitch five full innings in any of them.
Along with his struggles to stay on the field, he has 9.51 ERA after allowing three earned runs in his 4 2/3 innings of work in the Giants’ 7-5 loss on Sunday.
Prior to this season, Snell had been one of the best left-handed pitchers in baseball, having already won captured Cy Young awards in his career – winning the AL Cy Young in 2018 as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, and then winning the NL award a year ago as a member of the San Diego Padres.
Snell’s arrival in San Francisco seemed to be a huge score for a Giants team looking to contend in the NL West, giving them a bona fide ace at the top of their starting rotation. So far they have not received that level of pitching and with another injury it is starting to look like this season might end up being a lost cause.
