2 San Diego Padres players pricing themselves out of returning in 2024

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As the 2023 MLB trade deadline inched closer and closer, one of the questions around the league was whether or not San Diego Padres GM A.J. Preller was going to be a buyer or seller. Why? That's because he had two arms that many would have loved to add to their roster for the final two months and a potential postseason berth.

The Padres went on a little run ahead of August 1 and Preller decided to not sell. Instead, he decided to add by adding some veterans on expiring contracts. Depth pieces every team can use, but since the August 1 deadline, San Diego has struggled and, after dropping two out of three over the weekend to the Arizona Diamondbacks, they are quickly fading in the National League Wild Card race, now 5.5 games back and needing to climb over four teams.

That is the risk Preller took by deciding to hold onto players and pretty soon, attention will be turned toward the 2024 season and what the roster will look like. Two players that San Diego held onto are free agents and now instead of getting something in return at the deadline for them, they risk losing them as they are potentially pricing themselves out of Southern California.

San Diego Padres pitcher Blake Snell is pricing himself out on returning in 2024

Keeping Blake Snell and Josh Hader was a risky move by Preller, but in the overall big picture, it was a move he had to do to keep his team competitive. Now that things are slowly falling apart, their free agency will be a big topic over the winter and there's a good chance neither is back with the Friars when spring training begins in 2024.

Snell's numbers this season are no indication of how he has pitched. Yes, he became a consistent pitcher when the Padres signed Gary Sanchez as a free agent in late May and the two have formed a strong working connection. He is 9-8 with a 2.63 ERA in 24 starts and 171 strikeouts in 130 innings. His problem has been run support from his teammates and anyone paying attention knows that.

He is in the final year of a five-year, $50 million contract he signed with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2019 and there is no doubt that he's going to get a big pay raise, but where? At 30 years old, the left-hander could easily see his next deal double from his current one, and would Preller be willing to go say, five more years at $100 million? That's an awful lot of money for a pitcher who has a ton of innings already pitched in his career. However, he has been their best pitcher this season.

San Diego Padres relief pitcher Josh Hader / Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports

San Diego Padres pitcher Josh Hader is pricing himself out on returning in 2024

Josh Hader is one of the game's top closers and if Preller decided to move him, he would have got a nice haul back in return despite him being a free agent following the season. He has appeared in 44 games this season and is 26-for-30 in saves chances with a 0.86 ERA in 41.2 innings pitched.

His 26 saves have him ranked ninth this season throughout the league in that category, but he has been one of the Padres MVPs. He had a span last season where he struggled, but other than that, he's been very good for Bob Melvin and is still one of the top closers. He signed a one-year deal for $14.1 million last winter and now has set himself up for a longer and bigger payday this winter. Preller won't be lucky to re-sign him to a team-friendly deal again this upcoming offseason and he will be bidding with several other clubs for Hader's services.

There is no doubt that Snell and Hader are key pieces to San Diego and big parts of what they are trying to accomplish. Unfortunately, it looks like they are not going to accomplish that again in 2023 but, looking ahead to 2024, bringing both back on big deals is tough to envision. It's likely that both players outpricing them out of San Diego for next season and beyond.

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