Padres News: Blake Snell Addresses Future in San Diego

Will the Padres buy or sell?

It's been a weird few weeks for Blake Snell.

The San Diego Padres lefty is in the midst of his best stretch in the majors, and is simultaneously in the middle of trade rumors that have been circling his team for the better part of a month, all leading up to Tuesday afternoon's trade deadline.

On Sunday, Blake Snell did what Blake Snell has been doing of late, going five innings, only letting one unearned run cross home plate, and racking up nine strikeouts on the way to a San Diego win -- and sweep -- over the Texas Rangers, in what was a pivotal stretch for a team that's still deciding whether to buy or sell ahead of the deadline.

Afterward, Snell addressed the rampant trade speculation surrounding him in the briefest possible manner.

“I don’t think I’m going anywhere,” Blake Snell said.

— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) July 30, 2023

Using just six words, the veteran tried to provide some sense of clarity at a time when there's none, especially for a team that sits where the Padres do.

After San Diego's victory to cap the weekend, they remain five games back in the race for the final wild card spot -- firmly on that buy or sell bubble -- and not a place where the franchise thought they'd be this winter.

Instead of preparing for what was supposed to be an inevitable playoff berth, they're still mulling over whether to try to pull off a significant turnaround, or trade stars like Snell and closer Josh Hader in an attempt to get some value out of the impending free agents and try to build for a better future.

They could theoretically get an impactful return for two of the sport's premier arms, but now it's a question of whether the Padres front office will wave the white flag on what was supposed to be a historic season.

As of now, this season is historic for all the wrong reasons, as they've been one of the most disappointing teams in baseball on their way to this most unenviable of crossroads.

Will they choose patience, as pitcher Joe Musgrove implored them to do this week? Or will they hit the detonator on a 2023 season that has been everything but momentous?

That's up to general manager AJ Preller and the rest of the Padres' brass to decide.

But a pitcher that's proved to be one of the rare glimmers of hope in the most dim of years believes he will stay.

Will his thinking end up to be true?

We'll find out the most awaited of answers over this next day. The time for decisions to at long last be made has just about arrived.