This week's news on Blake Snell winning the National League’s Cy Young award served up a reminder that A.J. Preller and Peter Seidler did in fact produce moments of brilliance together. The trade for Snell three Decembers ago bloomed into a big success that was overshadowed this year by the high-payroll Padres falling short of the playoffs. Asked at the time about the trade of four minor-leaguers for Snell, a non-Padres scout told me it was risky.
He cited Tampa’s shrewdness going back to the franchise's sale to Wall Street sharps, under whom the franchise has far outperformed its modest payrolls in most seasons. He noted the Rays' best-in-class track record with pitchers. As for Snell, although he had won a Cy Young and had dominated the Dodgers two months earlier in the World Series, wild spells plagued him in many years. The results are in: the Padres make a terrific trade, and it was one of several smart moves that enabled the '23 club to finish second of 30 teams in run preventio