Farhan Zaidi's Scott Boras troll shows he's way too confident about Blake Snell

Farhan Zaidi's got jokes. Who knew? To be fair, it wasn't a very good joke. In fact, it landed like a ton of bricks. Zaidi was introducing his team's newly-signed free agent acquisition at a press conference on Wednesday, and the San Francisco Giants' President of Baseball Operations just couldn't help himself.

While introducing former San Diego Padres pitcher Blake Snell to the media, Zaidi quipped, "I actually just got off the phone with the White House. I called to ask if negotiating three deals with Scott Boras during one offseason qualifies you for a Presidential Medal of Freedom." (No one laughed).

Little does Zaidi realize that negotiating with Boras doesn't afford you bragging rights. It's not as if other teams didn't negotiate with Snell. But teams like the New York Yankees and Houston Astros were smart enough not to agree to Snell's lofty demands. It just so happens that Boras was able to convince the Giants executive that his client was worth more than any other team was willing to pay him.

Farhan Zaidi's Scott Boras troll shows he's way too confident about Blake Snell

Zaidi and the Giants are putting an awful lot of faith into a pitcher who struggles to get past the fifth inning and led the National League in walks a year ago. There's a reason why Snell lingered on the market for so long, and there's a reason why the Padres weren't going to re-sign him.

Do you know how many times Snell made it past the sixth inning in 2023? Twice! That's right, only on June 11th at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies, and then again against that same Rockies team at home on September 19th.

It's also important to remember that, at the start of the 2023 season, Snell was 1-6 with a 4.50 ERA while walking 36 batters in 56 innings during his first 11 starts. Sure, Snell rallied to post the lowest ERA in the National League, but let's not act as if it was a runaway victory.

Snell's ERA (2.25) and ERA+ (182) were outstanding. But Logan Webb appeared in 36 more innings and walked only 31 batters to Snell's 99. Zac Gallen bested Snell by 30 innings, faced over 100 more batters, and had a lower WHIP than Snell. Spencer Strider had over 50 more strikeouts than Snell last season. And the trio of Corbin Burnes, Justin Steele, and Zack Wheeler all had a lower WHIP.

Laugh it up, Farhan. Hopefully the Giants are all stocked up on bullpen arms. They're going to need them when Snell exits after the fifth inning, which he did 12 times in 2023.

More Padres News from Friars on Base