San Diego Padres to acquire 2018 Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell from Tampa Bay Rays

Blake Snell’s controversial early removal from Game 6 of the World Series will apparently be the ace’s final appearance with the Tampa Bay Rays. 

The Rays agreed to trade Snell to the San Diego Padres on Sunday night for a haul of prospects, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet official.  

Among the players heading to St. Petersburg are pitchers Luis Patiño and Cole Wilcox and catchers Blake Hunt and Francisco Mejia. 

Snell, 28, won the 2018 Cy Young Award with a brilliant 21-5 season that saw him post a 1.80 ERA. He is coming off a season where he posted a 3.24 ERA and struck out 63 in 50 innings. 

His 2020, however, will be overshadowed by what happened in the World Series. Snell was pulled in the sixth inning despite giving up just two hits over 73 pitches, with his team up 1-0. The decision immediately backfired, as the Rays’ season ended that night in a 3-1 loss. 

Blake Snell during Game 6 of the World Series.

 (Photo: Kevin Jairaj, USA TODAY Sports)

“I believe in me and I believe in my stuff. I didn’t walk nobody. For most of that game, I was dominating every outcome,” Snell said that night. 

“I’m proud of everything I did. And I wanted to keep going. I wanted to go the whole game – that’s all I wanted to do, was empty the tank.”

Snell will now be hoping to empty the tank for the Padres, who had a breakthrough 2020 in reaching the postseason for the first time since 2006. In acquiring Snell, the up-and-coming team that includes offensive stars like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado is clearly going all-in as it attempts to win its first pennant since 1998 and the first World Series in franchise history.

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