Padres must counter Dodgers' Blake Snell signing after unexpected backstabbing

San Diego Padres fans awoke on Wednesday to the rather unwelcome news that the division-rival Dodgers had signed former Padres ace Blake Snell in the first big deal of the offseason. Yes, the deal included even more deferred money for LA to deal with later down the road and yes, it truly stinks that the Dodgers seemingly have an endless money pit from which to draw from to sign top talent.

Aside from the fact that the next collective bargaining agreement is almost certain to address these deferred money deals like Snell's (as well as Shohei Ohtani's massive contract), Snell going to the Dodgers just feels gross.

While Snell has expressed his love for the Padres organization in the past even after leaving following the 2023 season, signing with the Dodgers of all teams is probably going to make him Public Enemy No. 1 (tied with the rest of LA's roster). And that's especially among San Diego fans who held out hope for a reunion with Snell.

With Snell's deal with LA all but final, AJ Preller and the Padres' front office simply must respond if they want to keep pace with the Dodgers despite some financial headwinds that could make that difficult.

Padres' front office must make a splash after Dodgers sign Blake Snell

The Dodgers throwing their financial weight around yet again was pretty much inevitable. Despite the fact that their spending habits last offseason were enough to make Steve Cohen blush and make Yankees fans look at Giancarlo Stanton's contract while shedding a tear, LA is very clearly all-in right now and had to address their rotation, which has been ravaged by injuries and free agent departures.

With LA seemingly finding a potential ace in Snell, it is on the Padres' front office to respond. The list of offseason needs for San Diego probably includes a starter to replace Joe Musgrove's production while he is out, re-signing Jurickson Profar or replacing him in the lineup, and reinforcing the bullpen a bit. Even though the number of long-term deals they have on the books would normally keep them out of the bidding for the top names in free agency, LA's continued push in the marketplace should alter those plans.

Perhaps the Snell signing will make the Padres more likely to trade top prospects for Garrett Crochet which would be less financially painful, but would likely cost them at least one of Ethan Salas or Leo De Vries. Adding Roki Sasaki once he is posted would be a nice retort as well. Whatever the move(s) end up being, they better be impactful. Otherwise, the Padres could end up being left behind.

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