Blake Snell Injury Update: MLB analyst expects Giants pitcher to return by All-Star break amid massive cap hit

San Francisco Giants ace Blake Snell is once again headed to the injured list, this time for a groin strain, the club said. This is the second time Snell is expected to miss at least a month after he suffered a left adductor strain that led him to miss 25 games already this season.

This is certainly not what the Giants expected when they signed the southpaw to a two-year, $62 million contract, knowing that he was coming off a Cy Young-winning year.

MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal joined Fox Sports to discuss the nature of Snell's injury and his expected return date. Moreover, he also gave an insight into how much it is taking a hit on the Giants' cap with so little production coming out of it.

"Not exactly, Chris, but earlier this season he had a similar injury, missed about a month. So if he misses about a month again with this one and maybe the Giants will be even more careful this time, who knows? We're talking about July 1st at least, perhaps even the All-Star break," Rosenthal said.

Rosenthal thinks that given that Snell has been consistently getting injured, the Giants will be careful this time and will only have him return after a full recovery, which is somewhere around the All-Star break.

"This is a pitcher with a 9.51 ERA in just 23 and two-thirds innings so far. He has that $30 million plus salary, the ability to opt out after this season, but if he's not on the mound very often, the Giants might be looking at another $30 million plus for next season."

Injuries were one of the many reasons why teams were hesitant to sign Blake Snell to a multi-year contract and this is also what delayed Snell's free agency closure.

With Blake Snell headed to 15-day IL, Giants call up veteran outfielder Michael Conforto

MLB: Arizona Diamondbacks at San Francisco Giants

With Blake Snell now heading to the injured list, the Giants have called up veteran outfielder Michael Conforto in a reciprocating move.

Conforto has been out since May 11 owing to a hamstring injury. He has batted .280 with seven home runs and 20 RBIs this season.

On Sunday, when Snell was up against the New York Yankees, he was two pitches into Alex Verdugo when he suffered discomfort due to left groin tightness, leading to manager Bob Melvin pulling him out after he threw 4.2 innings. This was his third start since his earlier similar-natured injury.

This season, Blake Snell has been terrible, pitching to a 0-3 record with a 9.51 ERA in six starts.