Blake Snell unhappy with lack of raise for Cy Young season

As a pre-arbitration player, Tampa Bay Rays ace Blake Snell has no real say in his salary. The Tampa Bay Rays do, and they opted against giving him special treatment for turning in a Cy Young season in 2018.

That has Snell a bit peeved as spring training starts, and in a statement issued through his agents, he made it pretty clear what he thought.

“The Rays have the right under the collective bargaining agreement to renew me at or near the league-minimum salary. They also have the ability to more adequately compensate me, as other organizations have done with players who have similar achievements to mine. The Rays chose the former,” Snell said, via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. “I will have no further comment and look forward to competing with my teammates and field staff in our quest to win the World Series in 2019.”

Snell was given a raise of just $15,500, bringing his salary to $573,700 for the 2019 season. That’s just under $20,000 more than the league minimum. This falls within the Rays’ pre-determined salary guidelines, from which they refused to grant Snell an exception despite the fact that he went 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA last year.

Snell may be used to disrespect, but he has every right to be disappointed with this. The Rays are playing within the rules, but it’s not really a good way to ensure that players are going to stay loyal to the organization long-term.