Padres Rumors: Writer Predicts Blake Snell Winds Up With NL West Rival

Will Snell make his way up The 5 North?

The San Diego Padres need pitching. Plain and simple.

The team has two All-Star pitchers in Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove, but there isn't much firepower behind those two hurlers. 

At this point in the offseason, the Padres have already lost Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo and Nick Martinez from their 2023 rotation — and it seems that they're likely to lose another. Reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell is looking for a huge contract, and it's unlikely to come from the salary-shedding Padres.

But it could come from a team close by.

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report made predictions for all the top starting pitchers on the market, and has the lefty ace heading up The 5 North to become a San Francisco Giant. Reuter believes Snell will sign a five-year, $125 million deal. 

The Giants sit among the top teams to acquire the two-time Cy Young winner. According to the Toronto Star, San Francisco has the second-best odds to sign Snell at +250. The New York Yankees are the favorite at +200, and third on the list is "any other team."

Snell, 31, had one of the best seasons of his career in 2023 with a career-low 2.25 ERA and 234 strikeouts in 32 starts.

The Padres losing Snell would be a huge blow to their rotation — him going to a division rival would only make things worse for San Diego.