5 former Padres still without a job heading toward spring training

Blake Snell

The elephant in the room here is Blake Snell who was a headliner of this offseason's starting pitcher free agent class is among the biggest names left on the free agent market period. Snell took home the NL Cy Young Award in 2023 thanks to putting up a 2.25 ERA in 180 innings with 234 strikeouts. He definitely walked too many guys, but he was absolutely dominant aside from that.

While the walks are a concern for some teams, the biggest reason that Snell's free agency has moved so slowly this offseason is because his agent is Scott Boras and Boras is notorious for holding out for every cent he can get out of teams. However, Snell's market appears to be heating up with the Yankees, Giants, and Blue Jays all being connected to him. The Yankees even have an offer on the table, but it doesn't look like one that is going to entice Snell/Boras just yet.

Garrett Cooper

Finally, we come to Garrett Cooper. Cooper started the 2023 season with the Marlins, but the trade deadline saw the Padres acquire him along with Sean Reynolds in exchange for Ryan Weathers. The hope was that Cooper could regain the .800ish OPS form that he displayed from 2020-2022, but he only managed a .239/.323/.402 slash line in 133 plate appearances.

As a result of his subpar 2023 season, a good bit of the shine has come off of his free agent case. However, Cooper is still very adept at drawing walks and it looks like the Brewers are interested in signing him. However, they are considering a few other options at first base as well.

More Padres News from Friars on Base