Padres Rumors: Insider Reveals Big Update on Blake Snell
Free agent starting pitcher Blake Snell enters the offseason in line to receive a major payday this winter. He was the best pitcher in baseball last season, and he is expected to leave the San Diego Padres.
Snell is the likely candidate to win the National League Cy Young Award this season, and he was almost unhittable at different times this year. He posted an ERA of 2.25 for the year and helped keep the Padres afloat amid their season struggles.
MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today provided an update on Snell regarding the Cy Young Award, and it seems like a lock that Snell will indeed receive it.
"Early congratulations to MVP winners Ronald Acuña Jr. and Shohei Ohtani; Cy Young winners Blake Snell and Gerrit Cole; and Rookie of the Year winners Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson. Their prestigious BBWAA awards will be officially announced this week."
Snell put together one of the better seasons from a pitcher in recent memory, and it will see him earn a massive pay raise this winter. While the Padres aren’t likely to retain him, some team is going to win the bidding war for his services.
The Padres will need to figure out a way to replace his production in their starting rotation, assuming that he leaves, and it won’t be easy. He has been the ace of San Diego for the last few years, and he leaves a giant hole in their pitching staff.
But President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller always has a plan up his sleeve, and he surely does here as well. The team can look in different directions to replace Snell either with another free agent or via the trade market.
The Padres want to remain competitive in 2024, and they are intent on getting back to the postseason. This team was embarrassed last season, and they want to make sure that it doesn’t happen again this year.
