The San Francisco Giants have played better in their last two games and still hold a glimmer of hope in the National League Wild Card. Still, it’s unlikely that the Giants will make the playoffs, barring anything drastic happening over the next three weeks.

As the season comes to a close, the front office needs to assess the campaign. While there’s been some good, much of the year has been a disappointment.

The front office can blame their injuries, lack of luck, or anything else, but the fact of the matter is that San Francisco wasn’t good enough.

That seemed obvious a few months ago. However, they were still in the mix to make the postseason via the Wild Card, so they didn’t sell at the deadline.

Does the Giants front office regret that a month and a half later? Perhaps so.

With Blake Snell, the chances of returning a top-100 prospect, or even two, seemed likely at the time. Prices at the deadline were outrageous, and if he had been dealt, there wouldn’t have been much debate that he would’ve been the best pitcher moved.

A missed opportunity, especially if he leaves in free agency this winter, which many around the industry expect.

An issue, even a big one, that Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report believes San Francisco “wishes” they could go back and fix.

“There were rumors ahead of the deadline that the G-Men might be willing to move Snell and his massive player option for 2025, but it didn’t happen. Since the beginning of July, he has made 11 starts with a 1.42 ERA, including a no-hitter against the Reds. Some lot of good it’s done the Giants, though, who have played .500 baseball since the beginning of July and are now as good as dead in the wild-card race.”

Hindsight is 20/20, and obviously, if the Giants knew they’d struggle after the deadline, they wouldn’t have decided to keep him.

At the time, it seemed to be the right thing to do. The rotation was getting healthy, they were playing better, and they had the veteran talent to do the job. Instead, they fell on their faces.

With the offseason approaching, a lot needs to be done. After not moving Snell, hopefully, one of those things is bringing him back.

It remains to be seen, but his free agency will be one of the more intriguing situations around baseball this winter.

The San Francisco Giants were aggressive during the offseason leading into the 2024 MLB campaign. One of the biggest additions was ace starting pitcher, Blake Snell.

As a Scott Boras client, Snell was expected to land a massive multi-year deal. But, nothing of the sort materialized, as the lefty settled for a two-year, $62 million deal with the Giants.

While the contract was not what he was hoping for, Snell did everything in his power to maximize his earnings. His dominant performance was recognized by Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report in a recent piece.

The MLB writer shared some of the best seasons a player has ever had entering free agency. Snell’s 2023 performance with the San Diego Padres landed on his list.

“Snell went 14-9 with MLB-best marks in terms of ERA (2.25), ERA+ (187) and H/9 (5.8) for the San Diego Padres in 2023, winning the NL Cy Young Award. Paired with the AL Cy Young Award Snell won as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018, Snell became the seventh pitcher in MLB history to win the honor in both leagues,” wrote Kelly.

That certainly sounds like the kind of production that would lead to a player cashing in big-time as a free agent. But, there were knocks against Snell despite taking home the most prestigious pitching award in baseball.

Outside of his Cy Young Award-winning seasons, when he threw 180 and 180.2 innings, 129.1 innings is his high in any other campaign. He hasn’t made an All-Star team any other year, either.

While Snell has the stuff of an ace, he routinely wasn’t working deep into games. With the reputation of not being a workhorse, it was hard for some teams to justify paying him as a top-of-the-rotation player despite his skill set categorizing him as such.

It will be interesting to see if Snell can turn his 2024 season into a bigger contract this upcoming winter. He is expected to exercise the opt-out in his contract and hit free agency again.

Once again, his production has warranted a lucrative deal. He has been incredible since a second stint on the injured list, anchoring the team’s rotation along with Logan Webb.

Overall in 2024, Snell has made 17 starts and thrown 87 innings, including his first career complete game shutout. He has 116 strikeouts and a 3.62 ERA, performing as one of the best pitchers in the Major Leagues since July 9th.

New York Jets coach Robert Saleh ruled out two backups for Monday’s game with the San Francisco 49ers in advance of the final injury report for the contest.

Offensive lineman Wes Schweitzer and linebacker Zaire Barnes are listed as out for the game, leaving the Jets in a bit of pinch when it comes to depth at both positions.

Schweitzer, a nine-year veteran, has been on the injury report all week with a hand injury. He’s the backup to Alijah Vera-Tucker at right guard. Saleh said that Schweitzer was likely heading for injured reserve.

Xavier Newman is the backup at both left guard and center and could serve as the backup for Monday’s game at right guard, too.

Barnes, a second-year pro out of Western Michigan, is listed as the backup to Jamien Sherwood. He was added to the report on Friday with an ankle injury.

Losing Barnes could be a bit more problematic for the Jets, as he’s listed as one of two back-up linebackers on the depth chart. The only other backup linebacker is Chazz Surratt, who backs up both C.J. Mosley and Quincy Williams. 

The Jets have two linebackers on the practice squad — Sam Eguavoen and Marcelino McCrary-Ball.

Veteran offensive tackle Tyron Smith practiced again on Saturday as a full participant and he does not have a listed status for the game. He was limited during Thursday’s workout after he received a veteran’s day off. He returned for full practices on Friday and Saturday.

The remainder of the Jets’ injury report included cornerback Jarrick Bernard-Converse (groin), offensive lineman Max Mitchell (shoulder), offensive lineman Xavier Newman (shoulder) and wide receiver Mike Williams (knee). All four were full participants on Saturday and don’t have an injury designation. Williams is expected to be used judiciously as he is coming off an ACL injury last season.

49ers defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) and linebacker Dee Winters (ankle) are listed as out for Monday’s game. Neither practiced this week.

Safety Talanoa Hufanga (knee), who has been a limited participant all week, was listed as doubtful.

Running back Christian McCaffrey (calf/Achilles) and Guard Aaron Banks (finger) are listed as questionable. McCaffrey was held out of most of training camp and the preseason but all signs point toward him playing on Monday.

San Francisco players with no game designation include running back Isaac Guerendo (groin), wide receiver Jauan Jennings (ankle), linebacker Tatum Bethune (ankle), guard Spencer Burford (hand) and punter Mitch Wishnowsky. All were full participants on Saturday.