San Diego Padres rumors: Blake Snell, Josh Hader staying put for the stretch run?

With less than a week to go until the MLB trade deadline on August 1, the San Diego Padres are continuing to play their cards close to the vest.

No one really knows what GM A.J. Preller's plans are in regards to proceeding with the 2023 season, but you won't find many insiders who believe he intends to sell off assets. This includes ESPN's Jeff Passan, who wrote in a recent article that the Padres have rebuffed outside interest in starter Blake Snell and closer Josh Hader to this point.

San Diego Padres rumors: Blake Snell, Josh Hader could stay put at the MLB trade deadline

Instead, Passan speculates that San Diego could target bullpen upgrades at the deadline, and if nothing else comes to fruition, the team could simply turn to its farm system in the event that they stay in reasonable enough contention down the stretch.

Because both Snell and Hader are impending free agents, it's mildly surprising that neither is currently on the block, especially given the Padres will only receive mid-round draft pick compensation if they leave. And with a decision to make on outfielder Juan Soto's future as well, the picture doesn't look any clearer for San Diego.

In another interesting note from Passan, the ESPN insider doesn't expect a blockbuster trade to occur next week. Unless of course, we're talking about Shohei Ohtani.

But even a trade involving Ohtani is viewed as unlikely, which means we shouldn't anticipate the Friars pulling off another major trade like the ones they made for Soto and Josh Hader last summer. This much, at the very least, seems clear.

So what's the big takeaway from all of this? Expect the uncertainty around the San Diego Padres' trade deadline plans to linger until crunch time, and don't expect any big moves when that time does arrive.