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

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.