Giants Blake Snell stance makes him a perfect Mets trade target

In a surprise turn of events, the San Fransisco Giants have begun shopping their coveted free agent acquisition, Blake Snell, ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline.

This comes as a result of the market for the pitchers being quite a bit hotter than expected. AJ Puk was moved for a potential 30 homer prospect from the Diamondbacks. Carlos Estevez was moved for two potential star pitching prospects. With Tarik Skubal basically coming off the market and Garrett Crochet requiring an extension to pitch into October, the Giants saw an opportunity to toss Snell on the market to see what he would return.

This shouldn't be seen as a huge selling move though. This isn't San Fransisco entering a wide scale rebuild or anything like that. They just noticed the incredibly hot market and wanted to see what the reigning NL Cy Young could net.

There is a small catch in making a deal for Snell though.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, and join the discord to get the inside scoop as we near the July 30 MLB trade deadline.

Giants unwilling to pay Snell's contract in a trade, ideal for the Mets to target him

More often than not, when a team deals a player on a massive contract, the team will eat a portion of his contract so that the team acquiring him sends more prospects over in the deal. This can be seen in almost every deal for a player signed to a massive extension. It's the same reason that three teams are currently paying Max Scherzer for this year.

But the Giants have made it known that they aren't looking to keep any of the massive Snell contract on their books. The Giants would be looking to push his entire deal onto the team acquiring him, which could limit the field for him quite a bit. Not very many teams could afford a midseason acquisition worth as much as Snell's contract. It also lowers his value quite a bit.

This is perfect for a team like the New York Mets. The Mets match up with Snell and the current situation at hand perfectly.

Following Kodai Senga's heartbreaking injury that should cost him the rest of the regular season, the Mets are without a reliable fifth starter. There's no better way to fill this hole than acquiring a pitcher with a 0.75 ERA this month.

The Mets are also one of the only teams that can afford this kind of trade. Not only can they afford it, but it's almost like the Mets front office is eager to cough up their money if you look back on some of the contracts they've had on their books in recent years.

These reports should bring quite a bit of hope to the Mets in their pursuit of acquiring the Giants ace.