The Padres signaled they are all in for competing immediately with the Dodgers in the NL West with a blockbuster trade in which they sent 4 highly regarded prospects to the Rays for pitching star and former Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell LHP. The prospects going to the Rays are Luis Patino RHP, Francisco Mejia C, Blake Hunt C and Cole Wilcox RHP.
Snell needs not introduction as he is coming off a stellar postseason run and was the center of a controversial manager decision in the final game of the World Series when Kevin Cash pulled him with 1 out and a runner on first base in the 6'th inning against the Dodgers. The Padres needed a frontline SP after losing Mike Clevinger for the entire 2021 season to Tommy John surgery. Snell bolsters a rotation that included Dinelson Lamet RHP, Zach Davies RHP and Chris Paddack RHP. Top pitching prospect Mackenzie Gore also remains in the picture. Snell comes with 3 years on a relatively team friendly contract which will pay him a total of $39 M.
While this is a terrific win-now trade for the Padres, it comes with a big price as they give up a significant portion of their impressive farm system although as mentioned they retain their top pitching prospect in Gore. Snell is not without his downsides either. Despite ace level performance when he's in games, he has averaged less than 5 innings per start over his career and has an elbow surgery of his own(removal of loose bodies in 2019) in his rearview mirror.
The trade is more of a head-scratcher from the Rays side and has to be frustrating for their fanbase. After coming this close to winning it all in 2020 and Snell signed for a decent cost certainty over the next 3 years, the conventional wisdom would be to add on and make another run in 2021. Instead, the Rays lose both Charlie Morton to free agency and now Snell, albeit for a huge haul in prospects. It's very hard to see them replacing those two for a lower price in 2021. It's possible the Rays see themselves taking a step back in 2021 while building for another run in 2022 or 2023.
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Sad to report the passing of yet another HOF player from my childhood in Phil Niekro RHP. Niekro was famous for his dancing knuckleball and incredible longevity in the game. He made 26 starts in his age 48 season. Sad to say there have been so many passings over the past year I have not been able to keep up with posts for all of them. RIP Phil Niekro.
Probably a good break for Snell, and most likely cementing 3rd place as the best 2021 finish for the Giants.
ReplyDeleteSince the Rays are committed to "twice through the lineup" — with very good results under Cash — even $13M/yr is a lot (to them) for a guy who is only going to pitch 5 innings every 4-5 days, 160 pitches a year.
No matter how good TB can play in a very tough division they still suffer a gate consistently under 1.5mil fans/year — even with home games against NYY and Boston every year while playing winning baseball. And northern cities with escaping and/or vacationing populace provide another source of fans since the locals eschew the pitiful park,
No one knows what 2021 will bring! Will fan capacity be limited to 25% while playing the full 162-game schedule MLBPA is insisting?
Whether Owners are making or losing money (since we fans don't really know), what is certain is those very rich elites are not making what they think they should. Even the dimmest bulb among them can calculate ROI.
Oops! 160 pitches a year -> Innings Pitched per year...
DeleteThis along with the Darvish trade are a death sentence to the Giants chances of finishing higher than 3rd place in the NL West for the next 3-4 years at least. Farhan can pinch as many pennies as he likes and find all the bargain basement deals out there and they won't finish within 10 games of either SD or LA for a long time. If there was an award at the end of the year for lowest payroll in a large market then maybe Farhan would actually win something. My guess is he is gone within 2 years after showing little to no long term results with his scouting, developing, and dumpster diving.
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