Blake Snell May Have A Favorite Team In His Endless Free Agency

Blake Snell won the National League Cy Young Award in 2023 with the San Diego Padres heading into free agency, seemingly setting up a massive pay day for the 31-year-old starter.

Yet with Major League Baseball's Opening Day less than three weeks away, Snell has yet to find a new team. 

As part of the so-called "Boras four," Matt Chapman, Jordan Montgomery, Cody Bellinger, and Snell, his free agency timeline has stretched well into spring training. Whether through unreasonable demands, unrealistic expectations, or a desire to target a specific team, the delay has been one of the biggest stories of the offseason. 

But the lengthy process may finally be drawing to a close, thanks to Snell himself having a "strong preference" on where he goes next, according to ESPN's Buster Olney. 

"I'm hearing that Blake Snell's preference -- strong preference -- is to go to the Angels," Olney explained in a recent episode of the Baseball Tonight podcast. "There [has] been back-and-forth with that team. That's where I think he's going to land."

SAN DIEGO - Blake Snell of the San Diego Padres pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates July 25, 2023 at Petco Park. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)

Do The Angels Make Sense For Blake Snell?

Olney has well-placed sources, so there's reason to believe his report is accurate. And assuming it is, it raises the question of where Blake Snell fits on the Angels. 

Angel Stadium is generally viewed as a neutral to slightly pitcher-friendly park, which would make it a more desirable home park. It'd also allow Snell, a Washington state native, to remain on the West Coast. The Angels desperately need pitching as well, with Tyler Anderson, Chase Silseth, Reid Detmers, Patrick Sandoval, Griffin Canning and Zach Plesac battling for rotation spots.

The Angels also have plenty of money to spend, after losing Shohei Ohtani to the rival Dodgers. 

But are they in the right competitive spot to make adding Snell worthwhile? That's a much more complicated question. 

All-world superstar Mike Trout hasn't played more than 135 games since 2018, Anthony Rendon has effort problems and is already battling an injury, and top prospects like Jo Adell have yet to excel at the major league level. Snell would certainly improve the team, but enough to make the postseason? That seems unlikely.

Fangraphs' playoff odds put the Angels at just 15 percent to play October baseball, even with the extra wild card spot. Snell would bump that number up this year, but the track record of starters aging into their mid-30's is questionable, at best.

And given his track record is filled with inconsistency, it might not be the wisest use of the team's artificially limited budget. But since when have the Angels worried about spending wisely? 

At the very least though, the Snell saga could finally be coming to a close. Now we wait on Jordan Montgomery.