Blake Snell is heading to San Diego to join the Padres. The Tampa Bay Rays are getting some prospects back in return. Jeff Passan broke the news Sunday night. Snell is coming off a World Series appearance with the Rays and was notoriously pulled early in the decisive Game 6.
Blake Snell Heads for the West Coast.
The Rays get back a haul of prospects from the Padres system including top pitching prospect Luis Patino. As well as, Francisco Mejia, Cole Wilcox, and Blake Hunt. Patino is FanGraphs 10th ranked prospect in all of baseball. However, Snell is now the second pitcher the Rays have unloaded this off-season. As Charlie Morton signed with the Atlanta Braves in November.
Snell led the Rays to the World Series behind some very strong postseason starts. Notoriously, Snell was pulled by number-crunching manager Kevin Cash in the sixth inning. While Snell had under 80 pitches and was cruising. Snell was visibly upset after the move and even more upset after reliever Nick Anderson gave up the lead. The Rays lost the World Series that night and rumors were swirling about a possible Snell trade.
Trading Snell is a Questionable Move Considering His Contract.
However, Snell won’t be a free agent until after 2024 and is due just around $40 million. Snell is due $11 million dollars this season, which is odd the Rays didn’t keep Snell as they could’ve had him for cheap compared to his numbers. Nevertheless, this is how the Rays do business and have done so for a long time.
As for the Padres, the move bolsters their starting rotation and sets them up as true contenders. Does it push them past the Dodgers? I’m not so sure about that just yet. The bullpen still needs some work, however, this move definitely improves the team. The Padres are a force to be reckoned with in the NL West.
