Blake Snell’s free agency this offseason is expected to go much better for him than his free agency in 2023. He entered free agency last year with the goal of getting a long-term deal, but was unable to complete it . Instead, he ended up with the next best option: a short-term deal worth a lot of money, with an opt-out.

Snell invoked that opt-out and is scheduled to be paid this winter. Spotrac projects him to be worth $131 million on a five-year deal. If Snell wants the four- or five-year deal, he might be right about the $130 million range. But there is also the possibility that he signs a three-year contract worth $100 million. The possibilities are endless.

But for the San Francisco Giants, Snell’s free agency is a complete disaster. They can’t afford for him to sign in the National League, especially since he finished the season so well in the Bay Area.

Which three teams would be the Snell landing spots for the Giants?

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One of the first teams that would pose a threat to sign Snell from the Giants is the New York Mets and their mega-rich owner Steve Cohen. The Mets need pitching, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal recently linked them to the Giants ace.

“The Blue Jays, another team linked to Soto, are also pursuing all three pitchers, according to sources briefed on their discussions. New York clubs cannot be excluded from the market,” Rosenthal wrote.

With that in mind, the Mets are reportedly eyeing the only two or three free agents taller than Snell. These include Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes and Pete Alonso. If the Mets had their way, they would actually sign better players than Snell, which is strange to say since there are only a handful of players in the league who are better than him.

Either way, Snell to the Mets is a doomsday situation for everyone. Why? Because he wouldn’t be their only new addition. Snell would be just one piece of the puzzle that Cohen and the Mets front office are building. Snell would set the Mets rotation as their ace and they could look to add another starter or two with him. He would also return to the NL with the Giants.

Obviously, the worst landing spots in the Giants’ eyes will be in the NL West. Snell could try to return to the San Diego Padres if the Padres can find the money to compete with offers from other top teams. That’s a big “if” in this scenario because Snell demands a lot of money and the Padres have already invested hundreds of millions of dollars in other players.

But if the Padres front office finds a way to make the deal happen, it would be one of the worst-case scenarios for the Giants and the rest of the league. Snell would join a rotation that includes Yu Darvish, Dylan Cease and Michael King, supported by an even better cast.

The Padres barely managed to surpass the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2024 postseason. Adding Snell to their rotation may have put them over the top. Who knows? If the Padres beat the Dodgers in the NLDS, they might just go all the way and win the World Series.

Either way, San Francisco would hate to see Snell return to their division in a different uniform.

Talk about a nightmare scenario. The Dodgers have a real chance at signing Snell, and it would be the worst-case scenario for everyone in baseball except the Dodgers and their fans.

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal recently revealed that the Dodgers are not only interested in Snell, but have already met with the former Cy Young winner.

“Blake Snell doesn’t waste time. The free-agent left-hander recently met with the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, according to sources with knowledge of the discussions,” Rosenthal wrote.

If the Dodgers manage to sign Snell, which they absolutely can afford to do, that would give them an Opening Day rotation with Snell, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and whoever else you want to fill the fifth spot. Either Ohtani or Snell would have to be the No. 2 pitcher on the team. This is absolutely ridiculous.

And that scenario would destroy everything the Giants are working on this winter. San Francisco is trying to return to the promised land and ultimately win the NL West and the World Series. The Dodgers are one of the few things standing in their way, but if Los Angeles adds Snell, there will be doom in the Bay Area.