Report: Blake Snell wants to remain a Padre

Bob Nightengale reported in his Sunday notebook for USA Today that Blake Snell, who is a free agent at season’s end, wants to remain with the San Diego Padres. Snell lowered his ERA to 2.50 on Saturday night in six shutout innings.

Who knows if Snell actually does want to be back in San Diego but there’s a case that can be made that he should want to stay.

The Padres are a talented baseball team that just made it to the NLCS last season and a lot of those same players are going to be on next year’s team. Have all of these players just lost all of their talent? Are they not going to be hungrier than ever going into next year after an embarrassing 2023 season?

It took some time for Snell to get comfortable being with the Padres organization so does he want to have to do that whole process all over again in the middle of his prime when what he’s doing is clearly working in San Diego?

He’s on track to win his first National League Cy Young award with Ruben Niebla supporting him as his pitching coach. Does he want to leave him?

Now of course there’s a case that can be made that the Padres aren’t the team for him, considering he’s a Scott Boras client and there’s been a bunch of money spent already in the rotation and in the lineup. But it has been reported in the past that Peter Seidler is someone who has stepped in at times and made a deal happen even if the front office weren’t the biggest fans of it so he could do that with Snell to make sure he stays.

If the Padres want him back, you’d think it’s going to cost at least what Carlos Rodon got from the New York Yankees last winter ($162 million). Rodon though hasn’t gotten off to a good start in pinstripes, as he has a 5.70 ERA in just nine starts.