The Padres got Blake Snell in a huge trade from the Tampa Bay Rays, which had Baseball Twitter, particularly Yankees fans, celebrating.
The stove was extremely hot on Sunday night as news broke of Blake Snell's trade from the Rays to the Padres.
The deal will have Snell head to San Diego while top prospect Luis Patiño, pitcher Cole Wilcox, and catchers Francisco Mejia and Blake Hunt go to Tampa Bay.
When a Cy Young winner at Snell's age of 28 gets dealt, it's an earth-shaking move.
Blake Snell's trade was met with excitement, uncertainty and jokes
2 days ago San Diego Padres' Trent Grisham, right, celebrates his solo home run with Manny Machado (13) during the sixth inning of the team's baseball game. The #Padres have placed RHP Trey Wingenter on the 10-day IL (retro 5/4) with a right shoulder strain and recalled RHP Phil Maton from Triple-A El Paso. — San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 5, 2019.
Padres Twitter Name Stolen
Tony Gwynn Jr., a broadcaster for the team and the son of the late Padres legend Tony Gwynn, spoke for San Diego fans everywhere.
LET'S GOOOOO???????????????? https://t.co/lklWl1OHZ3
— Tony Gwynn Jr. (@tonygwynnjr) December 28, 2020
If your first reaction was to crack a joke about the Rays' usage (or misusage) of Snell in the World Series, you're not alone.
I would crack a joke about trading Blake Snell with three years left on his deal, but this isn't the first time this year the Rays have pulled the plug on him early
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) December 28, 2020
The last that will be seen of Blake Snell in a Rays uniform pic.twitter.com/2PgYiQGC0M
— Ethan (@NYSportsFanCush) December 28, 2020
At least now the Blake Snell can throw more pitches to the #Dodgers finally.
— MLB Memes (@MLBMeme) December 28, 2020
Blake Snell realizing he's now allowed to pitch past the 5th inning pic.twitter.com/GxCVeGh2np
— Gabe (@TanakaComeback) December 28, 2020
There was also genuine excitement for Snell joining an already fun roster in San Diego.
There's like 100 different things about this trade, but it's late and I'm tired so my only reaction is 'Hell yeah the Padres are so damn fun.'
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) December 28, 2020
The Padres now have an unbelievable rotation to work with.
Potential #Padres Starting Rotation:
1.) Blake Snell
2.) Dinelson Lamet
3.) Mike Clevinger
4.) Chris Paddack
5.) Zach Davies/MacKenzie Gore
????????????
— Jake Taraska (@Jake_Taraska) December 28, 2020
That's not to say there aren't some out there betting on the Rays in all this.
Be careful, @Padres …. the @RaysBaseball usually win EVERY trade they ever make. Legit. #BlakeSnell
— The WIGGY (@GetWIGGYWitIt99) December 28, 2020
Minor Overpay. Rays win another trade? #BlakeSnell#MLB#RaysUppic.twitter.com/NBQjyP3bTh
— The Clean Up Podcast (@TheCleanUpPod) December 28, 2020
On today's episode of 'I have no idea what the hell the Tampa Bay Rays are doing, yet this will somehow work out in their favor due to reasons beyond our mortal minds', Blake Snell is traded.
Patino and Mejia are really good, though. Just wish it ended better than Game Six. https://t.co/NFzgRnn3NN
— BungledTree (@UrinatingTree) December 28, 2020
After all, Tampa Bay is stocking up on some seriously talented prospects.
The #Rays new Top-100 contingent:
1. Wander Franco
12. Brendan McKay
23. Luis Patiño (!)
41. Vidal Brujan
Padres Twitter Jud
67. Xavier Edwards
86. Shane Baz
99. Shane McClanahan
— Sam Dykstra (@SamDykstraMiLB) December 28, 2020
If nothing else, batters in the AL can now breathe a big sigh of relief.
BLAKE SNELL IS OUT OF THE AL EAST pic.twitter.com/hzgyNjx6Er
— ???????????????????? (@urshelawave) December 28, 2020
The Yankees should be especially pleased to see another pain in their backside head across the country.
Ranking best Yankees moves of the last 12 months:
1. Sign Gerrit Cole.
2. Red Sox trade Mookie Betts.
3. Rays trade Blake Snell.
— River Ave. Blues (@RiverAveBlues) December 28, 2020
Yankees fans, when they hear Blake Snell is leaving the AL East pic.twitter.com/DUKR6EZ3FX
— Jake Montgomery (@JakeM0NTGOMERY) December 28, 2020 Windows apps free download.
Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make. For example, the #Yankees watching Boston move Mookie Betts and Tampa move Blake Snell. These are some wild times.
— Tom Hanslin (@TomHanslin) December 28, 2020
Snell was an All-Star in 2018, when he took home the AL Cy Young award. In 2020 he had an ERA of 3.24 while going 4-2 in the shortened season. He has a career postseason ERA of 2.83 with a record of 2-3.
Who will ultimately come out on top in this blockbuster trade? Only time will tell.
We can say this with confidence: Dodgers-Padres did not disappoint.
It was the most widely anticipated matchup in baseball this season, built up so much over these past six months that there was no way these games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres could possibly live up to the hype.
And then the first matchup far exceeded expectations.
Friday night's matchup, the first of 19 regular-season games between two teams separated by 120 miles, felt like a postseason game, when every pitch matters and every move is closely examined, but in April. The Padres received approval to allow more fans into Petco Park heading into this weekend series, and a crowd of 15,250 provided a soundtrack of racketing ThunderStix and 'Beat L.A.!' chants that created a palpable intensity for the duration of a heated, back-and-forth matchup that spilled into extra innings and lasted nearly five hours.
There were jaw-dropping home runs and head-scratching errors. Surprising contributions and mystifying decisions. A fan running onto the field, a near brawl and 17 pitchers. Most of all, there were dramatic swings, particularly in the eighth and ninth, which saw the Padres tie the game, the Dodgers retake the lead and the Padres tie it again while down to their last out.
The Dodgers finally pulled away with a five-run 12th inning that gave them an 11-6 victory and seven consecutive wins. Their first runs in that half-inning came on a leadoff home run by Corey Seager. Their last? A fly ball by David Price, a starter turned reliever, that was caught by Joe Musgrove -- who threw a no-hitter seven days earlier -- and came against Jake Cronenworth, the second baseman who was used in emergency relief.
'It was like a playoff game,' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. 'It really was.'
Yep, Game 1 was everything we wanted it to be.
Here's what else we learned:
Not just any series: Players hardly ever make too much of a regular-season series, no matter the opponent, because the season is too long to put too much into any one game. It's not healthy. And so Seager's bland response when asked about facing the Padres -- 'I think it's just another division series. All division series are important.' -- was predictable.
Then it was the fourth inning and Padres manager Jayce Tingler was calling on his No. 7 hitter to bunt two runners over and pinch-hitting in the No. 9 spot. Then it was the seventh inning and both teams had combined for five errors. Then it was the eighth inning of a tied game and Roberts was asking Jansen for four outs. Then it was the 10th and Dodgers reliever Dennis Santana was going absolutely ballistic after getting out of a jam.
Machado through clenched teeth: Manny Machado, whose signing two years ago signaled a new era in San Diego, did everything for the Padres. He notched two singles, stole two bases, made a fabulous play on a hard grounder and came up big in the ninth. Machado worked a six-pitch walk with two outs and nobody on against Dodgers reliever Kenley Jansen, whose stuff looked electric once again, and seemed to be nursing some back soreness as he jogged to first base. He then stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch that didn't stray too far and came around to score on Eric Hosmer's tying single.
Padres manager Jayce Tingler said Machado had tightness in his lower back during the at-bat, then some shoulder discomfort after his stolen base. But Machado was determined to play through it. 'He was not gonna let me take him out,' Tingler said.
The Dodgers' absurd depth: On a night when the Dodgers were without three every-day players -- including Cody Bellinger, who was diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his left fibula -- it was Luke Raley and Zach McKinstry who stepped up. Raley crushed his first career home run in the fifth, a 434-foot shot that tied the game at 1. McKinstry, who entered with a .974 OPS, drove in runs in the eighth and the 12th.
The 2016 draft is proving to be an epic one for the Dodgers. Will Smith is already one of the game's best catchers. Gavin Lux is a budding superstar. Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin were two of the game's best rookies last season. McKinstry has been a revelation. And Raley might be on his way.
Tatis' up-and-down return: A lot of questions surrounded the health of Fernando Tatis Jr.'s left shoulder heading into this series. He had suffered a subluxation only 10 days earlier, his third issue with that shoulder in a span of 23 days. And there were concerns about whether he could manage it for a full season and whether doing so might affect him as a player, particularly with his mechanics at the plate.
His return provided both concern and optimism. The optimism came on a 410-foot home run to straightaway center field off Walker Buehler, which saw Tatis keep both hands on the bat in his follow-through, an adjustment the Padres would like to see him make in an effort to preserve his shoulder. The concern came defensively, with two errors -- an errant throw to second in the sixth and a botched double-play ball in the 12th -- to give him seven in six games.
Unhittable no more: Dodgers reliever Corey Knebel and Padres closer Mark Melancon combined for 1 hit, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts and zero runs in 11 1/3 innings heading into this series, then both got hit around in the late innings.
When Padres right fielder Wil Myers came to bat in the bottom of the eighth, with one on and one out and the Padres trailing by two runs, opponents were 0-for-12 with six strikeouts in at-bats that finished with Knebel's curveball. But Myers got one out over the plate and dropped a single into right-center, then Jurickson Profar got one on the outer half and poked a tying double down the left-field line.
Padres Twitter Hashtag
When Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner came to bat in the top of the ninth, opponents were 1-for-13 when facing two strikes against Melancon. But Turner, who declared during spring training that the Dodgers vs. Padres games would feel like '19 World Series games,' got a 2-2 cutter out over the plate and lined it to center field, giving the Dodgers their second lead of the night.
Padres Twitter Hacked
'That was a very good game,' said Price, who pitched the last two innings and worked out of a tough jam in the 11th. 'Neither team wanted to lose that game.'