Padres Free Agent Blake Snell Reportedly Wants to Pitch for One Specific Team

This is an interesting twist.

Padres free agent Blake Snell is one of the top players on the market this offseason. It's been reported since the end of last season that Snell was unlikely to re-sign with the Padres, as he could command one of the largest contracts in free agency. However, no one ever knew where Snell wanted to go.

That has now begun to change, as we have had multiple reports surface about Snell wanting to pitch for his hometown Seattle Mariners.

Snell was at the Seattle Seahawks Thanksgiving game last week, and NBC's Mike Tirico reported that Snell wanted to play in Seattle. MLB insider Chris Cotillo confirmed that report earlier this week, saying he "badly wants to pitch for his hometown Mariners."

Echoing what Mike Tirico weirdly mentioned on the NBC NFL broadcast the other night: Someone with knowledge of Blake Snell's thinking recently told me he badly wants to pitch for his hometown Mariners. So take that for what it's worth.

— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) November 28, 2023

Then, a reporter for the Seattle Times, Ryan Divish, went on radio and reported that Snell "really wants to come home."

“[The Mariners] are gonna sign Blake Snell because he really wants to come home, and then they'll trade one of the young pitchers for a bat."

Via Ryan Divish

This is a huge development, as we haven't really known any of Snell's preferences for the last few weeks.

However, it's starting to become known that he wants to play in Seattle, which would be a huge boost for the Mariners, a team who barely missed the postseason in 2023.

Snell heading to Seattle would also have a ripple effect across the league, as the Mariners have an influx of young MLB pitchers who teams would love to trade for.

As for the Padres, this report only continues to confirm that they'll be losing Snell, meaning they'll have to replace their ace and Cy Young winner.

But, if Snell were to go anywhere, it wouldn't definitely be best for the Padres if he went to the American League — especially in lieu of an NL West rival.