Padres News: Friars Listened on Hader, Snell, Didn’t Get Anything Compelling

San Diego held onto their stars.

In the weeks leading up to MLB's August 1 trade deadline, the key question surrounding the San Diego Padres was whether they would play the role of buyers or sellers at the deadline, given that they've gravitated from on the playoff bubble to nearly out of contention throughout the season.

Starting pitcher Joe Musgrove pleaded for the front office to exercise patience and not essentially wave the white flag on their season, while analysts pored over the great value they could get for their stars if they were to deal them.

So what did the Padres do with them?

While the team did listen to offers that they received on star pitchers Blake Snell and Josh Hader, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale, they ultimately decided to stand pat with them and try to make what would be a great turnaround to reach the postseason

The San Diego #Padres listened to offers for All-Star closer Josh Hader and starter Blake Snell, who are eligible for free agency after the season, but GM A.J. Preller says: "We just never got anything that was that compelling.''
They still believe they can play in October.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 1, 2023

It'll be an uphill battle for the Padres to play in October as they sit five games back and behind four teams in the race for the final NL wild card spot.

But despite their inconsistent play up to this point in the season, they have enough talent on their roster to theoretically turn it around.

Talent that they chose to keep when the clock struck 3 PM on Tuesday.

Snell has been one of the best pitchers in the sport this season, is a clear Cy Young contender with his starter-low ERA of 2.50, and on a historic run that's rarely been seen in baseball's modern era.

It's a similar story for Hader, who's arguably MLB's best closer in this campaign with a microscopic 0.89 ERA and 13.7 strikeout per nine innings ratio.

Combined with All Stars like Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Manny Machado at the plate, Padres general manager AJ Preller showed faith in his team by not waving goodbye to his pitching staff's best when he had the opportunity to do otherwise.

Now, we'll see if the Padres can reward their GM with a complete 180, or if this season will end with an all-too-familiar feeling of disappointment.