Padres Rumors: Friars Rejecting All Trade Offers for Blake Snell, Josh Hader
The debate as to whether the San Diego Padres should buy or sell at the trade deadline continues on with the deadline set for this coming Tuesday, August 1.
It's not by any means a debate that the Padres fans -- or anyone involved with the franchise -- thought they'd be having in the leadup to this season. Surely, with their sheer amount of star power, nothing could go wrong and they'd be strutting into October looking like NL contenders.
That plan hasn't come to pass in San Diego, and with the team sitting 6.5 games back in the race for a playoff spot, their star power could serve a much different role if they decided to sell.
A ticket to -- hopefully for the Friars -- success in the future.
And as the Padres front office tries to come to a firm decision as to how to approach the deadline, the clearest sign yet that the Padres will not be selling ahead of August 1 is here.
According to ESPN MLB Insider Jeff Passan, the Friars are saying no to all comers when they ask about the availability of two of the team's biggest stars.
"Executives who have asked about left-hander Blake Snell - - the best pitcher in baseball for two months running, with a 0.71 ERA in his past 11 starts - - and left-handed closer Josh Hader have been rebuffed, despite both players heading to free agency this winter."
Snell and Hader have been two of the rare bright spots in what's been a disappointing season for the Padres thus far, and with the Padres playoff hopes hanging by an ever-fraying thread, now would be the time to deal the impending free agents.
But it looks like the team will try to engineer the most dramatic of turnarounds.
Would that turnaround be very unlikely? Yes.
Do they have the talent on the roster to completely flip the script? Also yes.
And it feels like the Padres will take a big gamble and try to reverse their fortunes over the next few months with Snell and Hader still a part of things.
