“He’s basically going through Spring Training at the big league level” – MLB analyst believes prolonged offseason is behind Blake Snell’s slow start

Blake Snell did not have the offseason that he was anticipating. The reigning National League Cy Youg Award winner entered the offseason with the hopes of securing a lucrative, long-term deal. This was not only the expectation from the player but also many experts, given the year he had for the San Diego Padres.

"Reigning National League Cy Young winner Blake Snell and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a two-year, $62 million contract that includes an opt-out after the first season, a source tells ESPN." - @JeffPassan

Instead of landing a long-term deal, Blake Snell eventually landed with the San Francisco Giants on a two-year, $62,000,000 deal. Although that amount of money is nothing to complain about, many felt that the pitcher would have been able to secure a nine-figure deal somewhere.

The contract was hardly the biggest issue for the veteran pitcher. Instead, it was the fact that Snell signed his new contract on March 18. This put him behind most of the league in terms of season preparation, given the fact that Spring Training began at the end of February.

This is something that MLB analyst Alex Pavlovic feels is the main reason behind his difficult season debut for the San Francisco Giants.

“He’s basically going through Spring Training at the big league level," Pavlovic said on a recent episode of Foul Territory. "I think he is trying to find himself right now," he added regarding the veteran pitcher.

"He's trying to find himself right now" @PavlovicNBC weighs in on the slow start to the 2024 campaign for reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell." - @FoulTerritoryTV

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Blake Snell has endured a rough start to the season for the San Francisco Giants

Although it's understandable that the former San Diego Padres ace would need some time to ramp up and re-adjust to major league batters, his two starts could not have gone worse. The two-time Cy Young Award winner has started two games for his new club, with both resulting in a loss and pushing his record to 0-2.

Blake Snell has faced off against the Washington Nationals and his former club, the Tampa Bay Rays, giving up a total of 10 earned runs over only 7.0 innings. Although Snell was able to record nine strikeouts in those innings, it's clear that he will need to continue to build up before he returns to his All-Star form.