Padres Rumors: Insider Mentions Sneaky Team Who Could Sign Blake Snell in Free Agency

A potential homecoming?

Blake Snell took the words "contract year" to heart as he dominated his final season with the Padres ahead of his first foray into free agency this winter.

San Diego's ace in 2023 will more than likely win the second Cy Young award of his career and a competitive market for his services is sure to ensue. 

One potential team floated by USA Today's Bob Nightengale may surprise some but Snell's personal history with said city could make his signing a real possibility. 

The Seattle Mariners’ shrewdest move this winter could be signing Padres free-agent ace Blake Snell, a Seattle native, and trading some of their young pitching depth for position players.

via Bob Nightengale, USA Today

Snell's return to the Pacific Northwest would make a lot of sense after two of their veteran arms fell to season-ending injuries this season. 

The Mariners sorely missed both Marco Gonzales and Robbie Ray as the team depended on several young arms in their stead. 

Seattle fell just short of a postseason spot in the AL after many of their inexperienced starters simply ran out of steam down the stretch. 

Julio Rodriguez's impressive talents were fully on display and Blake Snell could join a suddenly formidable Mariner rotation after his dominant season. 

Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert and George Kirby all solidified themselves as starting options but Snell could easily slide in for Bryan Woo to form a fearsome top rotation in the American League. 

Seattle hasn't shied away from spending big for their stars as both Castillo and Rodriguez earned significant contract extensions in recent seasons. 

Such a trend could continue with Snell as M's catcher Cal Raleigh already signaled to the front office that the team needs to spend more to become competitive. 

It's hard to argue with the man they call Big Dumper as Texas and Philadelphia have both spent big and now hold respective leads in their respective championship series in the postseason. 

Snell's addition to his hometown team would only help that fact and could propel the franchise to its first World Series appearance in franchise history in his tenure there.