The San Francisco Giants placed left-handed starter Blake Snell, on the 15-day injured list Monday. Snell will be sidelined for at least the next couple of weeks with a left groin strain. Just when the Giants were getting good injury news with the activation of Michael Conforto, they suffered a setback by losing their biggest offseason acquisition for a good part of June.
The Giants placed Blake Snell on the 15-day IL with a groin injury.@Ken_Rosenthal has more on what to expect. pic.twitter.com/CGHarJq8dc
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 4, 2024
Giants’ Blake Snell Heads to Injured List with Groin Strain
As Ken Rosenthal stated in the interview above, Snell already missed time this season with a similar injury. He was out for roughly a month and had made three starts since his return. Even aside from the injuries, Snell’s tenure in San Fran is off to a rocky start. In six starts, he is 0-3 with a 9.51 ERA, 1.944 WHIP, and an ERA+ of only 40. It is a far cry from his final season with the San Diego Padres last year. He won his second career Cy Young Award (first in the National League) with a major league-best 2.25 ERA. That was the second-best mark of his career, as he put up a 1.89 in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays, leading to his first Cy Young.
Snell found his new home this offseason on a generous short-term deal, signing a two-year, $62 million contract with an opt-out after this year. While the move up the West Coast hasn’t panned out yet, the injury issues may be playing a big role. Snell’s three-year tenure with the Padres also got off to a rough start, albeit not to this extent. In 2021, he pitched to a 4.40 ERA, the second-worst mark of his career (4.29 in 2019). His 69 walks that year probably helped inflate that figure. Despite last year’s award-winning campaign, Snell led the majors by issuing 99 free passes. If Snell can do a better job limiting walks once he comes off the IL, it is likely his numbers will start to even out.
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