MLB Rumors: Blake Snell trade fit, Braves superstar trade, Cubs-Astros deal

MLB Rumors: Blake Snell trade buzz connects Padres ace to Phillies

As things continue to crumble for the Padres with the exorbitantly priced roster now sitting double-digit games outside of the division lead, general manager AJ Preller could begin to look deeper at moving assets who could leave at the end of this season or in the next couple of years.

One such player is former Cy Young winner Blake Snell. And Zachary Rotman of Friars on Base connected the 30-year-old lefty to an intriguing National League contender: the Philadelphia Phillies.

Rotman noted that the Phillies, a club that is still 10.5 games back of the Braves in the division but just a half-game outside of a wild card spot, doesn’t necessarily need an ace like Snell to bolster a rotation that features Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Taijuan Walker and Ranger Suarez. Their need is really a fifth starter.

At the same time, though, putting Snell ahead of Walker and Suarez in the rotation, at minimum, would change the calculus immensely on last year’s NL representatives in the World Series.

Overall this season, Snell has been phenomenal with a 2.71 ERA and 1.22 WHIP over 19 starts and 103 innings. But after having an ERA north of 5.00 through the first month, he’s been dominant, allowing just three earned runs over his last 47 innings (eight total starts).

Given that he’s a free agent after this season, the Phillies could get a discount on the possible rental of Snell, but that would also possibly open of re-signing him as part of the core moving forward too. And though they may not be in a position where they’re going to catch up to the Braves in the NL East, the fact of the matter, is that they didn’t do that last year, and you see where they ended up.

And if they are indeed inclined to pursue Snell, perhaps an even bigger blockbuster could be on the table, one that includes Soto too…