Reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell is scheduled to throw a simulated game Wednesday and make his San Francisco Giants debut on April 8 against the Washington Nationals, manager Bob Melvin told reporters Monday.
Snell, who signed a two-year, $62 million deal with an opt-out after the first year in San Francisco, didn’t appear in any spring training games with the Giants after only inking his contract on March 19.
According to Melvin, he expects Snell to throw around 70 pitches during the simulated game on Wednesday.
“It just doesn’t feel like we’re there yet for him. So I think he’s gonna feel a lot better (after Wednesday),” Melvin said. “You know it’s been pretty easy for him. The first couple games he had a lot of strikeouts with guys who are just sitting on a fastball. So we can get some guys in there that will probably challenge him a little bit more. And then, we’ll be ready to go after that.”
Only the seventh pitcher to win the CY Young Award in both leagues, Snell went 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA and 234 strikeouts in 180 innings over 32 starts for the San Diego Padres.
The left-hander was perhaps the biggest addition San Francisco made this off-season, joining free-agent acquisitions Jung-Hoo Lee, Matt Chapman, Jorge Soler and Jordan Hicks.
The Giants entered Monday with a 2-2 record after splitting their opening series with the Padres. They are currently set for a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
You can watch the first game of the series on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ starting at 10 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. PT.
