Juan Soto recruiting Blake Snell to Yankees is a killer for Padres fans

Juan Soto latest efforts will make Padres fans' stomachs churn.

Eric Cole

2024 New York Yankees Spring Training / New York Yankees/GettyImages

For San Diego Padres fans, few moves could have hurt more than the trade that sent Juan Soto to the Yankees. Not only did the team lose one of the best hitters in baseball to one of the most divisive teams in the league, but it was representative of the change in direction for the Padres organization, away from pushing their chips in each offseason and towards trying to get their payroll in check.

As the season goes on, there are going to be continual reminders of this pain. Soto is going to play well under the brightest of lights in New York, and San Diego fans will be left wondering what might have been. The only real solace they can take is that Soto is basically a mortal lock to test free agency and get one of the biggest deals in the history of the sport, and the Padres got a really nice haul for one year of his services.

However, Soto isn't done making the Padres regret letting him go. When Soto was asked about his former Padres teammate Blake Snell, he was unequivocal in lobbying for the left-hander to join him in New York and talked at length about how great of an addition he would be for the Yankees.

Juan Soto's recruiting pitch to Snell is just twisting the knife for Padres

Again, it is bad enough to lose a great player, but it is that much worse when that player tries to recruit other former great Padres players to join him. One can't fault Soto for trying because Snell is a great pitcher, but it would be truly brutal if he is successful.

Fortunately for Padres fans, it does seem like the chances of Snell landing in New York are slim for now. While Snell has pivoted to considering short-term deals for a high AAV and has been in touch with the Yankees, a deal is currently seen as unlikely and teams like the Angels and Giants appear to have more momentum at the moment.

So will Soto be successful in recruiting anyone else to the Yankees this season? Probably not, but that is little comfort to Padres fans who just wish he had never left.

More Padres News from Friars on Base

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.