Blake Snell hints at Giants’ impatience with return from injury – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

Blake Snell’s first Giants season didn’t go well and his latest start to rehab added to the problems.

The 2023 NL Cy Young Award winner pitched just 1 2/3 innings for the Sacramento River Cats on Sunday, as he allowed three hits, two earned runs while walking three batters. He recorded no strikeouts.

Snell, on the IL with a groin strain, expressed frustration after his 51-pitch outing against the Round Rock Express, hinting at possible pressure from the Giants to return before he was ready.

“I haven’t felt like myself yet,” Snell told reporters in Sacramento (with Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle). “It’s just, ‘We need you.’ We need you. We need you.’ It’s not like, “Let’s make it better,” and I have to deal with it.

“I want to be healthy and 100 percent and I haven’t been. I’m just fighting to run back. So that’s my point of view. This frustrates me. And you’re not getting the product that I should be and it’s just frustrating. I want to go out there and dominate and throw the way I throw, but it’s more important that I’m out there.

Snell injured his groin during his start on June 2 against the New York Yankees and was placed on the injured list the following day.

This is the second time Snell has missed an extended period of time since signing with the Giants, as he dealt with a groin strain that kept him sidelined for four weeks in April and May.

The Giants’ rotation has been decimated by injuries of late and the team is tumbling in the NL Wild Card standings as the season’s midpoint approaches. If San Francisco is putting behind-the-scenes pressure on Snell to return quickly, these two facts are likely a big reason why.

The season is getting away from the Giants and the pressure is mounting on everyone in the organization.

Snell signed with the Giants 10 days before the start of the 2024 MLB season, so he did not have proper spring training to develop his arm strength. Rather than making one or two minor league starts before joining the big league club, he pitched simulated games and held bullpen sessions.

In just six MLB starts for the Giants this season, Snell has a 9.51 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 23 2/1 innings. He hasn’t made it past five full innings in any of his outings, going 4 2/3 twice.

The Giants (36-42) have lost five straight, and although they are just three games out of the final wild card spot, only the Miami Marlins (27-50) and Colorado Rockies ( 27-51) have worse records in the NL.

The Giants need Snell back as soon as he’s ready, but it appears he might need more time than they do.

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