The reigning American League champion Rays could part with one of their most recognizable players. They have informed other teams that “they’re open to the idea of” dealing left-hander Blake Snell, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com writes, though the Rays aren’t “actively” looking to trade him.
It could be a game-changer if the Rays actually are willing to deal Snell, considering the lack of front-end starters on the open market after Trevor Bauer. Snell was an American League Cy Young winner in 2018, and though he hasn’t been as successful since then, any team would be happy to plug him into its starting staff. The 27-year-old posted a 3.24 ERA/4.25 FIP with 11.34 K/9, 3.24 BB/9, a career-best 49.2 percent groundball rate, and a 95.1 mph average fastball velocity over 50 innings in 2020.
The Rays signed Snell to a five-year, $50MM extension before 2019, but the low-budget team could now move on from him if it receives an enticing enough offer. Snell still has three years and $39MM left on that deal, but that should be a very appealing contract to clubs that need help in their rotation. Feinsand names the Braves, Angels and even the Mariners as clubs that are “believed to be interested in” Snell.
I mean… Not a bad Mariners fit if they can extend him 🙂
Patino, Abrams and Weathers or something along those lines from the Padres could facilitate a trade.
More like “Blake Snell open to trades”.
Make the call Perry!
yeah. like right now
I guess it doesn’t hurt to see what the market is for him , Teams will lowball for a year probably and this kind of business hurts team loyalty and shouldn’t be condoned.
Why would you need to extend him when he’s under contract for 3 more years?
Phillies should be all over him. They have the assets and need to make it happen.
My god can somebody take over this team who actually wants to run it like a team that wants to win? If not, they may as well just trade Franco and Arozarena now because you know they aren’t surviving their arbitration years in Tampa. Imagine being the best team in your league and deciding “yeah, nows the time to trade our best pitcher”. That’s just embarrassing.
Mets will be ALL OVER THIS
I don’t really want to give up Alvarez Mauricio or Allen and for snell you almost have to give up 1-2 of those + more. I don’t like the that for someone that gives you 5 innings
Why give up prospects when you can sign FA’s for just money? Makes zero sense. Rays are trying to take advantage of Snell’s bargain contract after low revenues around the league.
Ya think? Why the hell would they do that.
I’m gonna say it… this organization doesn’t make any sense. They’re smart… but they don’t make any sense.
Better get use to it! This team is molding the minds of 85% of the league’s offices.
Twins!!!
They already have a really good rotation. In fact I’d argue it’s better than TB’s is rn.
Will likely get flamed for this by both Rays and Giants fans but the thought crossed my mind:
Rays are looking for a young, MLB ready catcher
Giants are looking for a young ace to lead the staff of the future
Joey Bart is a product of the Bobby Evans era, and Zaidi seemingly wants to move him to a position outside of catcher as the Giants drafted Patrick Bailey to play C
Bart in a deal for Snell could make some sense…
If the Giants would take Keirmyer, Bart alone (with the usual “fillers”) would likely get it done. And SF can use KK….
I suggested something like this a month ago, but got hooted on…..sorry, still makes lots of sense.
Hard to make any bold suggestion without getting flamed. Giants and Rays just love to trade with each other, and Zaidi seemingly doesn’t have confidence in Bart being their future catcher and has said he wants to be aggressive this offseason.
It would take Bart and two other prospects at minimum, and taking Kevin K. Ramos, Bart, and another prospect between 9-12 in the Giants farm. Maybe Seth C or another pitching prospect. That’s just a starting point too.
I dont think you are too far off in a start to a trade. Rays would love to have a young controllable catcher for the foreseeable future.
I thought Giants, Angels, Brewers, Phillies and Mets right off the bat. I would love to see him end up in Milwaukee although I don’t think the Crew have the right pieces
@sign, my very first thought upon seeing the headline about Snell was “damn, the Giants could sure need a pitcher like Blake Snell.” But, as a rebuilding team, we need our prospects……way too much. Didn’t think about Bart tho. Interesting idea. I am keen on Bart and defended his mediocre debut this year.
The kid could be very good in 1-2 years. But, I don’t think he’s a future HOFer, that’s for sure. With Posey back next season and Bailey in the pipeline, I’d be happy to swap Bart for for Snell….in a heartbeat. Com’on Farhan!
Yeah as a Giants fan I could be open to it. Bart and lower level prospects say Melvin Adon, Logan Wyatt for Snell, KK and a mid tier Rays prospect say Joe Ryan? Giants taking on all salary
Everyone’s for sale at the right price.
Especially on the Rays. They have a long history of trading arbitration eligible players for prospects because they’re too expensive.
If they can get enough pre-arb talent back they’ll trade anyone.
Yep. It’s their history. But he is not in arbitration, he signed an extension; salary going up, time to dump. And he will never have a higher trade value after his ws work.
Imagine the Mets sign Trevor Bauer and trade for Blake snell
Will. Not. Happen.
Considering the owner has more money than a few teams combined, I wouldn’t completely discard the notion…
The owner having more money than a few teams combined has nothing to do with Blake Snell. Bauer, yes, and they could acquire him, possibly. But trade assets are only so many, and when dealing with someone like Snell, you get one big trade and all your major assets are gone.
He didn’t achieve the status of richest MLB owner at 14 billion by making financial decisions that appeal to his heart. I think one big mistake Mets fans are making is that they’re comparing him to GEORGE Steinbrenner, when in fact he will end up being more like Hal.
Should absolutely happen
Why not?
AJ Preller on line 1 offering half the farm for him.
Do the Rays need a go fund me site to help make Payroll?
I feel bad for them, their ️ stadium sucks and their fanbase is just okay
Still trading their best pitcher is just plain silliness
Lol not their best pitcher. Watch some baseball before making such a claim.
I love the Rays, and don’t need pity–we are consistently good, and the future is bright.
Orioles fans would love to be in this situation.
Solution is to move the team
Does Kiriloff as a centerpiece sound fair?
It’s not fair for minnesota. I think Minny does not want to scrap their plans with Alex Kirilloff to pay big money for snell. It’s not a knock on Snell but it’s more of what they have in Kirilloff. Cost-controlled huge bat seems more valuable to me. I think AK is gonna be a bigtime player for the Twins. They may non-tender a guy like Eddie Rosario to get Kirilloff in that lineup, that says all you need to know right there!
Trade him to the Pirates for their top 5 prospects
not enough
Make the call AA.
Braves won’t do it. It will take a big haul of top prospects to get 3 cheap years of Snell. We can dream though!
the Rays arw no different then the Indians. build a good team through the farm, hope you win, and then trade everyone away or let them walk as free agents when they start to get expensive. great strategy to be good; terrible strategy to be truely great.
Darkside
Spot on. Bad stadium and media contract. Fanbase inadequate to support championship level team/ payroll. Only solution is to move the team
Their world series appearance would disagree with you big guy. theres not much ‘greater’ than that
Just when I thought the Rays might be serious about being and staying competitive, too.
white sox on line 1
The White Sox do make a lot of sense 3S. A package with Andrew Vaughn and Zack Collins and a couple of so-so arms probably gets that done. The Rays would get a TON of cheap control and they probably turn Vaughn into a monster.
Those guys make sense for WSox to be willing to part with before it becomes a fleece, but good chance someone will be more desperate to part with better. Now that Ethan Katz is the pitching coach, very optimistic Cease/Dunning/Kopech can realize their potential.
The Dodgers have catching and outfield depth they could trade
LA would have to give up either Gonsolin or Price to fit Snell in, and TB isn’t taking on Price’s contract, even if BOS is paying half of it
For Snell LA would give up Gonsolin and choice of catcher, 3B `and outfielder. Tampa could take there
The dodgers very well may trade Price. But unless they pay him down to like 5M a year, what’s the point from TB perspective? Way more likely, if they trade price, they do it in a Maeda like deal
Now, Ruiz and Gonsolin I would think starts the conversation. Probably need another 5-15 prospect, if nothing but Snell is coming over
Ruiz and Lux
Everything you’ve said below is as ridiculous as this
Dodgers have depth at EVERY position (and $ to take on a bad contract if necessary) if they want to make a realistic trade for just about any player in MLB.
Any team would have to give up a TON to get a guy like Snell for 3 more years and only $39M remaining. That is a great team friendly contract
But if the acquiring team also takes KK with Snell, that serves TB’s financial goals really well and probably subtracts from the number of players/prospects going back to TB. Boston could do this with Chavis, Benintendi, Groome, one of Jeisson Rosario or Pedro Castellanos, and two lower pitching prospects (say, Chris Murphy and Wilkelman Gonzalez or Durbin Feltman). Heck, take Lugo, too.
Do you think TB would trade Snell to an AL East team like Boston? Boston may not be a top of the division contender at this moment but they are never far away, especially if they can add Snell. Imagine Sale, Snell, E-Rod, Eovaldi.
If I was tampa , Im trading him somewhere with good prospects and a big bat goes back in the trade, that might be the one thing that cost them the world series,
Again, the effect of no Revenue Sharing is going to be HUGE, both on the receivers and the donors….the Rays lead the pack, I’m pretty sure, probably in the 60M range. But that also means the Spanks and the Red Sox have lots more to spend.
Even using Forbes’ figures, (which we know only somewhat true), it’s hard seeing the Rays affording a payroll north of 50M (same, BTW, for the Pirates, e.g.). Other teams are in a similar boat, but have owners who don’t quite operate the way Steinburg and Nutting do.
IF they can’t move move KK (without eating most of his deal), Snell’s gone. .
I think they are going to try to offload either Kiermaier or Tsutsugo along with Snell. And it would be smart for an acquiring team to be willing to do that, to slightly lessen the prospect package they’d have to send out. Interested teams with deeper pockets would be more likely/able to do that, teams like the Dodgers and Mets for sure. I’d say the Yankees, but I’m not sure that Tampa is going to be willing to deal with them. They’d have to blow the other teams out of the water with their offer.
All the teams are getting $70 million in additional revenue for 2021 from new national TV deals. None of them are hurting. Not even the Rays.
The Angels have Adell and Marsh. And that’s about it. Fletcher has plenty of value, too and the free agent market is pretty saturated.
Would love to see it but don’t think we get this caliber of a starter in trade.
I would do that trade but I think Marsh will be better then Adell. Make that trade and then sign Bauer & Odorizzi to pair with Bundy & Heaney.
Does TB need an OF?
Depends. KK is getting expensive and Meadows will hit arb fairly soon.
Really, if TB acquired Marsh they could trade Meadows for more prospect capital and just keep the pipeline churning.
I would rather trade for Marquez from the Rockies. With Snell, you better have a deep bullpen. Considering Snell doesn’t even average 6 innings a game pitched. Marquez would have a sub 3 career ERA if he was pitching in Tampa.
Look, I like Marquez too, but I don’t know how you could watch Kevin Cash be willing to pull Snell at 73 pitches in the World Series and not think that their process has something to do with his innings pitched, that’s #1. But #2, have you not seen Snell usually be outstanding in postseason starts? I’m not saying he’s a perfect player, but at that price, his value is extremely high.
The Angels desperately, desperately need high-end talent in their rotation. This Julio Teheran/Matt Harvey/Trevor Cahill “let’s throw some stuff against the wall and hope it pays off” crap isn’t going to work, and pretty soon here Mike Trout is going to get tired of all the losing and ask out. It will come faster than many fans think.
Could it be that the Rays realize he is never gonna be more than a 5 inning pitcher and has a poor attitude?
Smart move to at least get some feelers on him.
It is always smart for teams with a perennial star to ascertain value on him as he approaches FA. Many Mets fans this year believe their team is going to be able to get every single top-tier free agent available…. I don’t think Cohen will do that and even one of these significant trades will eat up most of their trade capital, so more than one may not even be plausible.
I’d have a poor attitude too if my manager was idiotic enough to pull me from a must-win World Series game when I’m absolutely dealing and I’m at 73 pitches lol. He didn’t even go nuts like I would have. I would have been irate.
The single worst managerial decision that I have ever seen, given the occasion, and it’s genuinely not even close. The guy he brought into the game had given up runs in his last 5 or 6 appearances in the postseason, something like that. There was no justification for it. Unconscionable.
The Rays are willing to trade just about anyone for the right price but this isn’t a stupidly run organization. If you are going to trade for Snell it’s going to cost a ton you have a Cy Young caliber pitcher that isn’t a free agent until 2024. They will only move him for an overpay at this point which means the offer most fans are offering aren’t near enough. It’s going to cost a ton.
I wonder what Snell is thinking right now with this news breaking that he could be headed somewhere else for the “right” price…..with 3 years and $39 Million left in the extension he signed………if he thought the Rays were going to be home for a long time, or at least the remainder of his contract, he now realizes he’s just another hired hand offered by the Rays for the right price….expendable for the right price…very interesting!
@rocky7 unless you get a NTC you don’t bake in any sort of expectation that the team won’t trade you when you sign an extension.
And this is why the Rays will never win the WS. They should be adding talent to that team in order to get them over the hump. Instead they are thinking of trading one of their best pitchers.
If they added a big bat like Cruz to be the DH and maybe make a trade for another bat or sign a pitcher, their back in the mix for the world series and al east title
Or…. since Franco seems to be near ready trade Adames for young controllable talent in their respective area of need – OF, C come to mind.
dodgers have multiple catchers to trade for Snell.
Ruiz would be the one that piques their interest for sure. Of course, it would take more than just him, but he would be a good piece for the Rays to get.
I’d wait to see if Franco is as good as advertised first. You can always trade Adames at the deadline. Plenty of top prospects struggle at first, like Vlad, Jr., and Adell.
Yes they will, 50 years from now when someone finally takes the team from sternberg and starts spending.
Trade to the Cardinals for Tyler O’Neil, Matthew Libertore, Matt Carpenter and Carlos Martinez
You’re kidding, right? Plus……… which other five ?
Angels make it happen . need him badly
worth trading Adell or Marsh?
i’d trade adell for snell and cash
Adell, cash and Pujols?
Do you seriously believe Adell and cash for Snell would be enough? I’d be shocked if TB settled on just Adell…likely takes 1-2 MORE controllable players.
You are far over valuing Snell. In 2019-2020 Snell has a 3.96 ERA, a 2.5 WAR total, with just 34 starts and an average of 4.60 IP per start. In 2016-2017 Snell had a 3.83 ERA, a 1.8 WAR total, and just 43 starts and an average of 5.0 IP per start. Don’t let one outlier system fool you into thinking he is somehow worth a kings ransom. He is worth a top 100 prospect, a reclamation project young MLB player, and a PTBNL.
100%. A pitcher Snell’s caliber is hard to find, especially at a price this low. The Angels can sign outfielders.
Snell is a 5 inning pitcher that’s it. He averaged less than 5 innings a start this year.
His manager is all-too-eager to take him out once he gets to the third time through the order, as you laughably saw in Game 6 of the World Series. He is capable of pitching more than that, I assure you.
How can you assure us when he has never done it in the pros? He is what he is. A good starter who can get you 5 solid innings.
He needs to come home to Seattle!!
Every team should be reaching out to see what the starting bid needs to be. If the White Sox sign George Springer to shore up the offense, that puts them as serious contenders in the AL. Would they part with an Andrew Vaughn or Kopech to pair with a Dane Dunning?
Vaughn, perhaps, Kopech, I doubt it. The reason is you need only one 1B and one DH, but 5 SP’s. You can always find a veteran slugger. The Sox also have Eloy, should he not improve defensively, or could go after guys like Cruz or Ozuna. 1B and DH are not premium positions, SP is.
Braves. Wright/Waters/Camargo/Contreras. Maybe Ynoa too.
I would make that trade so fast. no way that gets it done though.
It would definitely have to start with Waters and probably either Contreras/Langeliers, plus pitchers like Wright, Wilson, Ynoa, et al
Wow. I’m not usually a big proponent of emptying the farm to get a guy, but that’s a pretty great combination of arm and contract.
Adell, Yan, [ couple prospect outside 30] for Snell, and a bullpen arm
White Sox need to make this happen. Start with Kopech.
If Tampa is really wanting to shed payroll, maybe the White Sox would offer to take Kiermaier and Snell off their hands?
Interesting, but I doubt they give up Kopech in that case. At that point, they’d be paying about $26M/yr for Snell’s services. I don’t think they give up one of the game’s top pitching prospects, too. In that case, I think they offer Collins / Zavala and one of their other pitching prospects, like Stiever.
In re-reading that, I realize Collins / Zavala and one other prospect isn’t enough, unless it’s a guy who’s already made it, like Cease or Dunning. Even then, it might well take another guy to make it worthwhile. But I still contend that they don’t give up Kopech if they’re taking on Kiermaier.
In sports with salary caps, teams often have to move elite players they’d rather keep because of money concerns.
In baseball, only small market teams have to move elite players they’d rather keep because of money concerns.
Almost always to big market teams. The rich getting richer.
Because MLB has no interest in anything even approaching a level playing field.
Josh-correctamundo.How many teams could have afforded Mookie Betts but the Dodgers?
Small market teams are the Kansas City A’s of the 50’s and 60’s to the Yankees.
Rays will look to trade for top prospects, the Padres, Tigers, Mariners, White Sox, and Braves will be their targets!
“names the braves, angels and even the mariners as interested teams” what a joke. every team out there would want to plug that guy into the staff.
100%
Every team would ideally want to, but not every team is in a position to do so. You have to have the prospect capital or players they’d want, which is probably ideally a C or more pitching. You’d have to be in a position to use him (leaving out rebuilding teams like the Pirates and Royals). And you’d have believe that some of his metrics from 2020 are just blips, like the spike in HR/9 and FIP. He’d upgrade any rotation, sure, but that doesn’t mean all 29 teams are going to make serious bids for him.
I can’t realistically see the rays trading him. I get his contract is expensive under the rays standards but you have a cy young pitcher for a stupid cheap contract for baseball’s standards. Either it’s gonna take an insane haul for someone to realistically get him, or the rays cheapness is at an all time high after the covid revenue hit and Mgmt is forcing them to shed any salary possible.
I don’t see the Braves trading for him. It would prob take Pache and Waters at the bare minimum (if not a lot more) to pull off that deal and honestly we need at least Pache at this point… so I don’t see it happening
Oh, I agree. If they need to shed payroll, then find a taker for Kiermaier. I don’t know how cheap Tampa thinks an ace can be had, but $13mm is a bargain for Snell.
No doubt
Wish we had some prospects, the Phils could certainly use a top arm.
Such a cheap team
I think this has more to do with Snell’s youtube meltdown video where constantly proclaims “I’ve got to get mine” over and over more than the Rays needing to make payroll. Outside of 2018 Snell’s numbers are pretty pedestrian so the Rays may be trying to sell high while they can
True. For a team that has no plans of growing payroll, they might as well sell high.
Dodgers would probably jump in that mix. Lux, Ruiz, Gonsolin/May, et al. whatever it takes.
I would propose the same thing but maybe Tony or May OR Gray. I would ask them to take Jensen
They aren’t taking Jansen man. One of the reasons for moving Snell is to save money. They are going to want prospects or young major leaguers who haven’t even gone through arbitration yet, or early arb at the very least. It’s actually quite possible that they would want a team to also take more salary, like Kiermaier or Tsutsugo, and certain teams with deep pockets might be willing to do that if it meant that the prospect return might be slightly less. The Dodgers or Mets (with their new uber-rich owner) would be obvious candidates to be willing to take on more money.
That would be one scary rotation. They already have a lot of pitching, but Snell would make them even better.
If Snell wants to win a world series he would try to go to LA Dodgers. Dodgers have money and prospects to work out a deal with Tampa.
Snell has no say in the matter.
Teams better be willing to make good offers. Rays will be looking for specific players to add to their roster. Smart on Neander to see what those trade offers will be.
Angels for Adell, Jones, Sandoval
To much to give up for Snell
I don’t agree. While I think Adell has a chance and same with Jones, Sandoval doesn’t do much for me, and it’s an ace on a $39MM deal for the next 3 years. The Angels are rapidly wasting Trout’s prime, and are in serious danger of him asking out with another terrible season. It’s going to take more than Adell for sure, who didn’t look that good in 2020. Sure, that doesn’t mean he can’t end up being very good, but his stock alone isn’t going to cut it. Particularly in a year where the free agent pitching options are so weak after Bauer, Snell is going to command a hefty return, unless teams know that the Rays are worried about his medicals. I have a theory that this is why the return for Clevinger was so low. In any case, yeah, Adell isn’t going to be close to enough.
I think you are right. Other than 2018, Snell has a 3.90 ERA, a 3.91 FIP and averaged just under 5 IP per start while missing 21 starts to injuries. You can’t base a pitcher’s value on an outlier season 3 years ago.
I cannot believe these GMs get fooled into these bonehead trades year after year and are seemingly never the wiser when they unload their top prospects going for glory and they flop in the postseason. Meanwhile, the Rays once again get out from a big contract and replenish their organization with top level talent they develop into every day, effective, winning pros.
Here’s a tip: don’t do it unless Snell can be had for pennies on the dollar which is a near impossibility. Hello!!!
Snell isn’t owed enough money for any team to truly get “burned” by the contract. Atlhough the fact that the Rays are considering trading a player like him coming off an AL pennant does suggest to me that they know something we don’t know.
Snell is a Ace and getting paid 39m for 3 years. That is pennies on the dollar.
Not for the cheap ass Rays
Mookie Betts deal seemed to work out OK…but I agree with your general sentiment.
Sanchez Andujar and Frazier for Snell.. good value or if they want a slugger give up Voit if they can keep Frazier.. sign Dj and let him play 1b and we have 2 aces
There’s no way the Rays trade him within the division.
TB doesn’t need any of those players. They could use a catcher, but not Sanchez. They don’t need an OF or a 1B. And, as Darth Nihilius says, they aren’t trading in the AL East.
Whats with you yankee fans thinking anybody wants Andujar let alone Gary.
While I don’t see TB taking Andujar or Sanchez in a Snell deal, I’m pretty sure there is a small buy low market for Andujar or Sanchez.
There’s a buy low market, especially if a team think they can plug them in at DH. Their bats are good enough to play; it’s the defense that’s the killer for both of them.
Another delusional Yankees fan….
Yeah he’s the only guy in this thread to suggest a bad deal.
Perfect fit for the Twins, they have enough of a farm system to trade him. Rocco is very familiar with him having coached in TB. We desperately need an ace and he’s controllable until 2024. This needs to happen
Snell is absolutely available, especially if the Rays can bundle KK into a deal. 3 Top 100 prospects + MLB-ready controlled arm would likely get it done.
Braves, White Sox, Padres, Mariners?
Could also see the Rays flipping those Top 100 prospects (including some already in their farm) for a catcher + cash and taking the KK money saved to go get Nelson Cruz.
Doubt you get that package, plus get rid of Kiermaier. Teams would be getting a solid glove, but no bat OF, which sounds like the 4th OF on most teams. Effectively, then, they’d be paying $26M/yr for Snell’s services. That’s not unreasonable, but it takes out the contract benefit you’d otherwise be getting, and that loss of value naturally lowers the return package.
“No bat” is an interesting way to describe a league average bat on the best defensive cf in the game
Look at his last 3 years. OPS+ of 80, 79, and 91. He started off above average, but he’s been below average for a while now.
Ive watched every game hes played for the past 3 years. Kiermaier is a decent bat when he is not constantly injured
Dodgers anyone? I mean why not? 39 million for 3 years is really doable and for a couple of prospects I would look into it
Since the Rays love analytical darlings… How about a trade centered around Rhys Hoskins, Odubel’s contract, Mickey Moniak and a few cases of the new Under Armour Harper’s for Snell.
When have the Ray’s ever traded for MLB veterans. Doubt it happens.
Most people are saying its stupid for the Ray’s to trade Snell but they overlook the fact that he’s an erratic pitcher who barely makes it past 5 innings a start. He has never eclipsed 200 innings before and he had an FIP over 4 in two of his five seasons, one being this year. He’s expendable and now is the time to trade him if they want something back. Personally I find Snell highly overrated…
If that’s the case why would anyone be lining up to trade their best prospects for him?
We don’t actually know that teams are doing that
Walker Buehler has never thrown 200 innings, and has only thrown more than 140 innings once in his career. He’s about 19 months younger than Snell is, but still. There aren’t 10 pitchers in baseball I’d pick above Buehler for a postseason winner-take-all game, and maybe not even 5.
Snell is an ace, and his good velocity and 4-pitch mix really play in the postseason. If the Dodgers got their hands on him, it would be like highway robbery, with health permitting. I guess that’s the rub. If the Rays are willing to deal him with 3 years left on his affordable deal, you have to wonder if they aren’t worried that he is at big risk of an injury fairly soon. That’s the only thing that’s giving me pause. I don’t care about the bloated ERA from 2019, nor the FIP from this year. I watch him pitch against the best hitters the sport has to offer, and he can make them look silly. It’s like Trevor Bauer: would I want to pay that guy $150-200MM? Pretty risky, since he’s been a little up-and-down in his career.. But Snell is only making $39MM for the next 3 years, and if he were to have just one ace-like season, that single season would practically pay for the entire 3 years. The contract makes his value sky high imo.
This year Blake Snell averaged 4.55 innings per start in the regular season and 4.8 innings per start in the postseason.
Were the short starts the result of Tampa Bay design or because of Snell’s lack of durability?
In 2020 regular season and postseason, Snell had no quality starts according to the arbitrary definition of that statistic. As a team the Rays recorded seven quality starts in the regular season.
Unfortunately, if you consistently shut down any pitcher before facing a lineup a third time, that’s what you’ll have: a pitcher unable to go much deeper into a game, because of where his team-set limits are.
That said, given Snell’s relative youth, it seems reasonable that he could be stretched out, especially by a team with superior player-development capabilities such as the Dodgers. (And YES, TB has similar capabilities, with one major difference: they can’t afford to keep the studs they develop.)
There might not be a more team-friendly deal in baseball right now than Snell’s remaining three years for just $39M. If you can go get Snell at those numbers and get something vaguely resembling the pitcher he’s been the last three, YOU DO THAT DEAL 10 TIMES OUT OF 10.
Dodgers should totally do it, especially considering they have catchers to spare, young prospects to deal, etc. Their rotation would become baseball’s deepest (if not also best), and they’d have a natural replacement for Kershaw, who could be the 3/4 starter that he actually is now.
Good lord, it would be stealing…..
I believe the Dodgers are best positioned to do a Blake Snell deal and a win win for both teams. Firstly if I were Neander, I’d ask for a replace starter with Urias or May, 2nd and most important is a catcher…Will Smith preferred or Ruiz. and as a bonus for Ray fans (and Dodgers relief) add Dave Price (at about 5 mill per?) to finish out his career as a Ray and replace Morton as Sr. Pitcher- So Blake Snell for Smith, Urias and Price…Who says no?
god the rays are such scum, just fold the team already.
LOL. Best record in the AL, and one stupid decision away from possibly winning a WS.
it’s a shame they have no fans who care.
Joe-Blame that one on the computer.
Spot on. Move the Rays
Rays have designated for assignment Renfroe & O’Grady because their outfield is crowded. Rays need a catcher, Rays could use a power right handed bat 1st base & DH. Have plenty of infielders. Rays are not rebuilding. Snell signed with agent Boras so he is gone after contract is up. This is might be the best spot to get max value
Alonso for Snell
Would you guys take Alonso for Snell?
In thinking of trade packages from the Dodgers, Keibert Ruiz makes a lot of sense. It would have to be more than Ruiz, of course, but it would be logical for him to be involved.
Logical and doable, especially since the Dodgers have young catching to spare.
Alonso for Snell
Pete Alonso the kid born raised in Tampa and grow up Rays fan? Sure might have a few other players from each team but Alonso the centerpiece
I don’t understand people who don’t think 30 starts from Snell isn’t more valuable than a dh only .250 200k hitter.
Would Matz interest them as a hard throwing lefty once a really good prospect?
This is a great way to show your FO backing of a top player. I’m sure that’ll be inviting for future FA to see. Rays have really continued to bewilder me as a franchise.
I wonder if Jeter Downs & Bryan Mata from Boston would be enough to get Snell? I’d hate to see Boston give up on two of their best minor leaguers but if they really hope to contend soon, Snell would make their staff a lot better for sure.
I agree with your assessment but I have to ask: would TB trade Snell to a division competitor?
I adore Snell, but i doubt seriously they have enuff to get this top pitcher. Whomever gets him will be giving TB back a ton for him., even if there were problems, post WS, we’ll never know, but i am guessing there were a few.
Build a package around Ruiz and Lux. Would add Gray if they take Jensen.
So you think the rays, who are trading 13M aav if snell, are taking Jansen’s 20M salary?
There’s no reason to pay more in prospect cost to get rid of a very useable reliever like Kenley
Correct on taking Jansen, that’s obviously not happening. It would be more likely that the Dodgers agreed to take on more money from the Rays, say Tsutsugo’s $7MM salary for ’21.
Someone please spend some money for this WS contender. Yankees are laughing at Ray’s piggy bank savings.
Could be a good fit behind Bauer if Minasian can make it happen. Doesn’t look like a inning eater much though. Has he had injury problems in the past? Was 2018 abnormal for him?
Would rays trade with the American League team? Probably not if they think they might be helping teams they will be computing with.
After the WS, the Dodgers will grab him. He’ll love to finish a two hit game in the WS on the winning team and Dodgers have the prospects to get him.
Maybe Friedman and the Dodgers night swing a deal?
The Mets should trade for Snell , I would give Mauricio,Nimmo,Matz and Ali Sanchez
Sign Springer, McCann,Hand take a flyer on Kluber, Tanaka or Odorizzi for 1 year
DeGrom,Snell,Stroman,(Kluber/Tanaka or Odorizzi) and Peterson
Resign J.Wilson and Ramirez for the BP.
Sign Tyler Flowers for backup C
Rick Hahn and Jed Hoyer should be on speed dial with Erik Neander. The Rays will want to remain competitive in the AL East by trading Blake Snell for pre-arbitration MLB ready talent. This gives the White Sox a decisive edge over the Cubs in any trade talks providing Hahn is willing to deal from his assortment of young power arms and perhaps even 1B Andrew Vaughn.
If Hahn is willing, the White Sox could probably top most any offer out there including those coming from AL East Division rival contenders like the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays. That said, my money would be on Neander hooking up with former Tampa GM Andrew Friedman who now has a World Series ring as the Dodgers PBO and plenty of cheap young assets to entice the Rays.
It doesn’t make much sense – they would be blocking a young starter if they traded for him. Sox rotation is not really a huge issue for them. They are pretty close to complete already, my guess is they would use big money to find a power bat to plug into right field having missed on Mazara. They may also look to get the bat they thought they had when they also whiffed on Edwin Encarnacion. Sox are bat hunting not starter shopping.
I disagree. The lack of a reliable 3rd starter (along with Renteria’s baffling BP management), doomed the Sox against the A’s. I do believe that RF is their biggest hole and so Springer should be their biggest target, but I’d be ok with them dealing Vaughn and Stiever / Collins to get this done. Some people have suggested Kopech, but I doubt that because pitching depth is often the biggest need on a team. With Cease’s struggles, Dunning just learning, Lopez flaming out, and Crochet giving us an injury scare just a few innings in, not to mention Kopech coming back from TJS, it’s really hard to have too much depth on the rotation.
I could totally see the Dodgers in on this. What if Friedman is leaking the Arenado stuff to throw people off the trail of Snell? I could also see the Dodgers being willing to take back Tsutsugo’s $7MM salary to give them even more financial relief.
The Dodger rotation could be Buehler and then 4 lefties: Snell, Kershaw, Urias, and Price. I mean, that’s just crazy. And it’s likely that one of May or Gonsolin would still be around.
I cant blame any team for selling high on an Ace. With how injuries, production decline and sometimes how fragile mentally pitchers can get. If you can get a tremendous return then I think you have to make the deal especially if you’re a low market team.
Wonder how Pittsburgh making a bad trade a couple of years ago will impact the Rays’ demands for Snell. They will ask for your Top 5 prospects and the COVD vaccine in return after getting Meadows and Glasnow for a worse pitcher with less team control.
Snell is getting traded due to fallout from the WS disaster. We don’t know what went down behind closed doors. Which team that scores him is getting an ace and top pitcher in the league. Good luck to whomever gets him, they’re getting the best.
I think the Angels have to be on him. Trade Adell for Snell and pick up Hunter Renfroe
Adell isn’t going to be enough. Just like Lux wouldn’t be enough for the Dodgers. Had they looked like Kyle Lewis or something, sure. They haven’t/didn’t. Gonna need more. I do agree that the Angels should be in on this, though. They are in desperate need of an ace. Either you’re trying with Mike Trout or you aren’t. You could argue that Bauer would make more sense, as he won’t cost you much of the valuable prospect capital that you worked hard to replenish. Having said that, Snell would only cost $39MM over the next 3 years, while it’s likely going to take a $150MM commitment to get Bauer.
Arte knows he doesn’t need good pitching to fill the stadium
I would love to see the Twins land Snell. Minnesota has a lot of blue chippers they could use in a deal. Pretty sure TB would want the likes of Royce Lewis, Rooker, Kirilloff, Duran, etc. They could make it work, question is do the Twins want to part with such high end prospects – most of which are already MLB ready.. It’s a good fit, I think.
It would take one of Lewis and Kiriloff, and one of the others, maybe some more low-level guys. As a White Sox fan, I hope it doesn’t happen. Either way, though, the next few years in that division are going to be fun.
Teams need to proceed with caution when trading with Tampa Bay. They have proven many times to be adept at winning trades. They absolutely destroyed the Pirates in the Archer deal and then obliterated the Cardinals in the Arozarena deal (to be fair we don’t know what Liberatore will be yet). Buyer Beware!
Kelenic and JRod aren’t going anywhere. I wouldn’t trade either for Snell. Save you’re money, develop the farm. There are other pieces that can be traded for lesser prospects.
Marco Gonzales for instance was traded for merely Tyler O’Neill. There are deals out there that make a whole lot more sense than this one.
I can see Seattle reuniting with Taijuan Walker or James Paxton before trading high prospects for Snell.
The other thing with the M’s is they’re not ready to contend yet. Getting Snell would get them closer, but at the risk of shortening their window. For next year, while they may be improved, they won’t be postseason-ready, so they’ll have wasted a year of Snell and lowered their draft pick order. There’s no point.
LA can offer Keibert Ruiz who got called up last year, is MLB ready plus SP Tony Gonselin should be enough for Snell..
I don’t know if that’s enough. Ace starting pitching is at a serious premium, and this dude is only making $39MM for the next 3 seasons. Forget the bloated ERA from 2019. He rebounded this season and he showed what he can do in the postseason against the very best the game has to offer. He’s 27. It’s going to cost a lot to get this guy, regardless of what any poster thinks about the value of Marco Gonzalez vs. him lol.
The Rays would have to listen really hard if the Dodgers offered up Dustin May. Already has shown he can succeed in the big leagues and has 5 years of team control left. Say all you want about the Dodgers being cautious with their starting pitchers, but I can guarantee you that not even Dave Roberts would pull Snell at 73 pitches if he was dominating a lineup in a postseason game. Which Snell has repeatedly shown that he can do.
Forget Arenado. The Dodgers should be after Snell, as cheap as he is through 2023. Perhaps it wouldn’t require May, and perhaps you could offer up some combination of Lux/Gray/Ruiz/Gonsolin, but if I’m the Dodgers, I have definite interest here. Friedman has worked trades with his former team before.
Snell only last what 5 innings per start? Similar to James Paxton. These guys don’t pitch deep into games anymore. Unless you have fail starters that gets through 3-4 innings in the bullpen then I get the idea. But snell isn’t that great when his pitch count hits 80-100 in just 5 innings minimum.
But it is reported that a Tatis move to the OF is an option if they made a move for Lindor. Wonder if this is part of the plan to save some of the wear and tear on Tatis given his all out play?
I get with Abrams is not Lindor but a move is something you would have to consider.
Multiple thoughts here
1) what is the mindset of Snell? Does he want out for the opportunity to maximize his value given the fact that TB will not let him see a 3rd time thru the lineup? I told my wife when he was pulled that may be his last pitch in TB given his reaction. BTW,she doesn’t care about my commentary and told me who, if she was the Bachelorette would pick so I’m talking to you guys and gals
2)why not sell high on him? TB will always need the player capital he or any other big name developed can return. This is especially true given his playoff run and arm issues they will not ever get this return again
3) given their young talent with big arms they see it as a plug and play to get 18 outs and turn it over to the pen so his value is different to them than other clubs
Not sure if they would trade in their own division, but who do you all think the Yankees would need to trade to get this done. Let’s keep in mind – while he is 2 years removed from a CY Young, at $13 mil per year, for 3 years, and about 5 -6 innings per start, I would peg him as a #3/#4 – so ridiculousness of Dominguez or Garcia.
lol at Yankees fans. I don’t think any team’s fans overvalues their prospects like you all do. Snell is even better in the postseason than the regular season. A package *starts* with Dominguez, who’s just a top-50 prospect. Yankees fans act like he’s Mike Trout 2.0.
Yes, Yankee fans are the only ones suggesting lowball offers. Look at the Adell for Snell straight up offer below. Just one of myriad bad proposals on this thread. You guys are something attacking NYY fans when everybody does it. There are very few solid offers being proposed here by fans of many, many teams.
He called it ridiculous to include Dominguez. At least Adell was at one point the #3 prospect in the game. Offering the former #3 prospect is better than laughing at including the #48. In that offer below, I also say that’s not enough.
I just don’t think the teams #1 prospect is the starting point. I think major league ready and layers are a starting point, like Schmidt or other top 10 that are older than 18.
But, the question was who, glad you were able to explain who not. Adds a lot of value.
Adell for Morton straight up?
Adell for Morton? They’d have to talk to the Braves about that one.
Adell for Snell? I don’t think that’d be enough. Adell looked seriously overmatched in his first trip to the majors. I believe he’ll still be successful, but he’s not enough to get Snell on a team-friendly deal. Good start, though.
Ya sorry it was a typo on that one I meant Snell… Adell did look overmatched at first but started to look much better. Also not enough to hurt his value as a top prospect. Rays need an outfield bat they can control. Maybe Adell and a Rivera?
Adell for Snell straight up?
A poster at Lookout Landing contributed an interesring comp to lefthander James Paxton, who was two years older than Blake Snell’s current age when the Mariners traded Paxton to the Yankees.
At the time of the trade, Paxton had posted 13.6 fWAR and 10.9 bWAR ion 582.1 career innings. Blake Snell has posted 11.6 fWAR and 11.3 bWAR in 556.1 career innings.
Paxton had two years of team control, for which the lefty was ultimately paid just over $21 million. Snell has three years and $39 million remaining on his contract.
Paxton and Snell each have durability issues although Paxton posted quality starts in 15 of 28 starts the season before the trade while Snell posted no quality starts in 16 starts between the 2020 regular season and postseason.
In November 2018 the Yankees traded lefthander Justus Sheffield, righthander Erik Swanson and outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams for Paxton. Baseball America ranked Sheffield No. 41 in its 2018 preseason prospect list and No. 27 in the preseason list following the trade. In 10 starts this year Sheffield ranked 26th among all pitchers with 1.6 fWAR. Swanson made eight starts for the 2019 Mariners but has fallen down the organizational depth charts. Neither MLB Pipeline nor FanGraphs lists Thompson-Williams among Seattle’s Top 30 prospects.
Should Snelll command a package similar to one the Mariners received for Paxton?
Ok based on a lot of the comments here this is where I’d start a package at from the Mariners.
Snell & KK
for
Luis Torrens, Justin Dunn, Taylor Trammell and Brandon Williamson
Three guys that could be on the big league club right now and a pitching prospect
Rays get out of that KK contract. If the Rays wanted a better pitching prospect then maybe swap Dunn and Williamson for Kirby and then maybe add a bullpen arm??
This is yet another scenario in which the White Sox could kill two birds with one stone this offseason by making a single trade. Earlier I had the White Sox lining up with the Rockies in a trade for their ace German Márquez and RF Charlie Blackmon to give the Rockies salary relief while also obtaining some fine young MLB ready talent. The White Sox are seeking both a TOR for their rotation and a RF. The White Sox could gain an advantage in trade talks with the Rays by offering to take on the contract of OF Kevin Kiermaier in addition to that of ace Blake Snell.
Kiermaier could give the White Sox a second Gold Glover in their outfield to pair with rookie Luis Robert. Left-handed hitting Kiermaier could move to RF as the White Sox primary starter, perhaps in a straight platoon with another GG caliber defender, righty hitting Adam Engel. Kiermaier doesn’t have awful splits (baseball-reference.com/players/split.fcgi?id=kierm…) versus LHP but does show more power versus opposite side pitching, much like Engel does versus LHP. One of the two could also replace defensively challenged LF Eloy Jimenez late in games while also affording Robert a needed day off in CF. Imagine the defense the White Sox could put out late in games with a narrow lead with Engel in LF, Robert in CF and Kiermaier in RF!
Be careful.. if the rays are looking to unload him, he must be damaged goods.
I’m leaning towards this being true.
FWIW Blake Snell posted 7.1 bWAR over 31 starts in his 2018 Cy Young season but has posted only 2.5 bWAR in 34 regular-season starts since then.
This is the move Sandy Alderson was waiting for.
Nearing his 29th birthday, Erik Bedard had posted 12.8 bWAR over 658 career innings when the Orioles traded the lefthander to the Mariners in February 2008. Bedard was coming off a 2007 season with an ERA of 3.16, an ERA+ of 146 and 5.7 bWAR over 182 innings.
Blake Snell, who turns 28 next month, has posted 11.3 bWAR over 556 career innings. Over the past two seasons the lefthander has posted an ERA of 3.96, an ERA+ of 111 and 2.5 bWAR over 157 innings, including an ERA of 3.24, and ERA+ of 131 and 1.1 bWAR in 50 innings this year.
Like Snell, Bedard had durability issues but the Mariners snagged two years of the southpaw for the modest package of Adam Jones, George Sherrill, Chris Tillman and Kam Mickolio.
Buyer beware.
Tony Butler was included in the five-player trade package for Erik Bedard in 2008.
Seeing how the Clevinger trade worked out, I would be super hesitant to deal with a team trying to trade their best (or one of) starters while still in contention. Like, why ARE they trying to trade him?
Depreciation
It’s. Not. Hard.
They could get a future MOR arm with 5 years of control, their future 21 year old catcher and probably another 2 pieces this year easily from LAD, with many other teams in the running too
Snell has a bad year? Or worse, he gets hurt? That package dissipates fast. Where’s Lance Lynn’s Massive package? Mike minor? Robby ray?
The moment he starts opening day, his value is only decreasing from here. They sound like they need to trade him or KK, because of COVID losses
Further, it’s pretty clear there’s some animosity from his usage in the WS. That interview was intense, so imagine behind the scenes
“Depreciation”
“It’s. Not. Hard.”
By that same logic, the Padres should trade Fernando Tatis Jr. The Nats should trade Juan Soto. The Dodgers should trade Walker Buehler. The Cardinals should trade Jack Flaherty. Because apparently moving guys at peak value is more important than the product on the field, right?
Omfg stop with your bs analogies to claim you win
Those guys have NOTHING in common with Snell. Pull a valid comparison or shut up
So to summarize, no, it is not by that same logic
Those guys have everything in common with Snell. They are all proven stars on contending teams whose trade values will never higher than they are right now. Way more in common than Matt Boyd (still Laughing @ You for that ridiculous comparison)
Adell for Snell