Free Agent Blake Snell Comments on Padres' Instagram Post
The San Diego Padres faced off against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday in their fourth spring training game. The Padres blanked the Cubs, 7-0, to earn their first win of 2024.
The Padres played great baseball, and outfielder Jose Azocar helped propel his team to victory. Azocar hit his first home run of spring training in the fourth inning, ballooning the lead to 4-0.
The San Diego Padres' media team shared it on all platforms, and interestingly enough, free agent Blake Snell commented on the Instagram post.
Sammy Levitt of 97.3 The Fan San Diego shared the interaction via X.
Snell is coming off one of the best seasons of his career with the Padres. He recorded a 2.25 ERA, 182 ERA+, 3.44 FIP, 1.18 WHIP, and a career-high 234 strikeouts. However, even though he's coming off a fantastic year, he remains a free agent.
A team has yet to pursue Snell seriously. The New York Yankees are the only team that's made an offer that's been reported. With less than a month until the start of the season, could Snell elect to return to the team where he achieved wild success over the last few seasons?
If Snell wants to return to San Diego, he won't receive the money he thought he would get — but at this point, he may not get it anywhere. So, Snell could elect to take a contract similar to the one Cody Bellinger recently took — shorter team, high average annual value — and potentially opt out next season to re-enter the market again in a year that might be more friendly to free agents.
Snell is going to have to make a decision soon on where he wants to play for the 2024 season. Maybe the Padres could make a late, surprise push to bring back their ace.