The Red Sox need to make a strong push for Blake Snell
One of the more enigmatic teams at the trade deadline this season are the San Diego Padres. The Padres spent big on their roster in both dollars and prospects and were heavy favorites to be playoff contenders. Unfortunately, things definitely went sideways for them in the first half and they find themselves five games below .500 as the deadline approaches.
While San Diego is very likely to want to regroup and try to compete next season, it does sound they could entire offers on some of their players including Blake Snell who is set to be a free agent after the 2023 season.
Snell could be the ideal target for the Red Sox if the Padres actually make him available. He is making $16 million season which should keep the particularly payroll conscious teams out of the mix. Snell is also pitching very well this season with a 2.61 ERA in 114 innings this year. Snell misses bats and is also going to be highly motivated to perform well as he is about to get his last chance at a big contract this coming offseason.
Getting the Padres to play ball is going to be the tricky part here. Admitting defeat at the trade deadline given the team's investments in their roster isn't a sure thing despite how rough the Padres' playoff odds look. The best guess is San Diego is going to have to get some talent that is close to being big league ready to be enticed to move Snell.
The Red Sox do have some trade chips that could fit the bill and assuming San Diego is willing and somewhat reasonable, Snell should be priority #1 for Boston.