Padres could lose another superstar to Yankees in late winter push

When the San Diego Padres traded away Juan Soto this offseason, it was a gut punch to Padres fans. As much as the team is trying to sell people on how good the Padres' return in the trade was, the fact remains that San Diego just lost one of the absolute best hitters in baseball. Any team is going to feel that sort of loss.

Unfortunately, that move was unavoidable. The Padres had to slash payroll going into this season, the Yankees were in desperate need of an impact bat, and it was highly unlikely that Soto was going to stay in San Diego long-term. This is the same player that turned down a $440 million extension from the Nationals after all.

What's done is done and Juan Soto is going to be a Yankee in 2024 before he goes on his quest for a $500 million contract next offseason. However, New York may not be done pillaging the Padres, as recent reports suggest that the Yankees remain interested in signing Blake Snell before the start of the season.

Padres Rumors: Yankees continuing to target Blake Snell on the free agent market

According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Yankees continue to have an offer on the table for Snell, despite ostensibly completing a five-man rotation with their January Marcus Stroman signing.

Look, Snell was never going to be returning to San Diego this offseason. The reigning NL Cy Young has been asking for big money this offseason, and with the current state of the Padres' finances, giving Snell $30 million a year or more just isn't in the cards. Even if San Diego was willing to pay that kind of money to somebody, Snell's age, issues with walks, and inconsistency in his career makes that kind of long-term commitment to him fairly questionable.

At the end of the day, Snell is a great pitcher who put up a truly special season in 2023. Given that he is coming off one of the best seasons of his career and is left-handed, it is understandable why the Yankees would be looking very hard at bringing him into the fold. With the Yankees' home park's dimensions, being able to neutralize opposing lefties has a lot of value, and Snell can certainly do that at minimum. While the Yankees' first attempts to sign Snell this offseason fell short, it sounds like they might have to be willing to up the AAV of a potential deal to $35 million a year on a shorter-term pact (even though that total would be taxed at 110%).

Still, it is going to feel pretty bad if yet another former Padres star ends up in New York this offseason. Despite a truly disappointing 2023 season, it still felt as though San Diego was on the verge of being a true title contender before their recent teardown. If Soto AND Snell end up with New York and the Yankees make a deep postseason run with them, Padres fans will be left wondering what might have been.

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