Padres Rumors: Blake Snell to Be Most Sought After Starting Pitcher if Made Available at Deadline

Should San Diego trade the ace this summer?

The MLB trade deadline is only a few weeks away and we will finally get some clarity on some situations across the league. One of those comes from the San Diego Padres and what they will do with their impending free agents.

The team has struggled this season and finds themselves in a deep hole in regard to a potential playoff spot.

So many are wondering if they will try to sell off players like Blake Snell and Josh Hader, both of which are free agents this winter. If the Padres do indeed decide to be sellers, Snell is the biggest prize they could offer. 

He has been one of the best pitchers in baseball for the last few months and could provide some team with a veteran ace-level pitcher for a postseason run. Snell is in line for a big payday this winter and it remains to be seen if the Padres want to retain him.

MLB.com insider Mark Feinsand listed Snell as one of the best trade candidates on his All-Trade candidate team. He believes that with the Padres struggling right now, Snell could become available. 

"Yet the Padres still find themselves on the outskirts of the postseason picture, sitting eight games out of a Wild Card spot and 10 games back in the NL West. Snell is owed roughly $6 million for the rest of the season, the final year of his five-year, $50 million contract."

Per MLB.com

Over his last 10 starts, Snell has an ERA of just 0.62 with 91 strikeouts. It has been an impressive showing for him and he could easily wind up winning his second Cy Young Award this season.

San Diego went all-in for this season so them trading Snell away would be them throwing the white flag essentially. It remains to be seen if they want to go down that path or if they want to keep trying to climb back into contention and hopefully reach the playoffs this season.

Either way, the Friars have some big decisions ahead of them as they try to maintain the team's future going forward.