Despite the San Francisco Giants making a late addition to the roster by signing free agent slugger Matt Chapman this week, a new report claims they are still very much in pursuit of the top player left on the open market before the season starts later this month.
The last few offseasons have been very disappointing for the San Francisco Giants and their fan base. The franchise is seen as one of the most prestigious in the sport but star free agents continue to pass on the opportunity to join the team.
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While Matt Chapman wasn’t seen as a player on the level of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, his addition to the 2024 roster yesterday is still a notable move for the team. It adds an elite-level defender at third who can also bring some thump to the batting order alongside another power-hitting signing Jorge Soler.
While pursuing Chapman the organization was also having ongoing talks with another Scott Boras client, Blake Snell. Following the signing of the one-time All-Star the assumption would be that Snell and his high asking price were now out of the question. Well, not so fast.
According to San Francisco Chronicle MLB writer Susan Slusser and NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic, the San Francisco Giants are still in the mix to sign Snell.
Chapman’s deal reportedly includes opt-outs after each season in the three-year, $54 million contract he signed Friday. Snell has a far higher asking price but could be open to a shorter-term deal with a high annual average. Opt out being added to that deal could also be an option like Chapman and the contract Boras put together for Cody Bellinger with the Chicago Cubs.
Even after the Chapman signing, The Giants are in the back end of the top 10 (via Spotrac) in payrolls for the 2024 MLB season.
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