San Diego Padres: Nothing has changed for Blake Snell

We all remember the World Series, when Kevin Cash seemingly jumped the gun by removing Blake Snell despite his dominance in Game Six. That move was considered to be the biggest mistake of the series, as the Dodgers rallied to take Game Six and the championship. Snell was critical of the move, and during the offseason, was shipped to the San Diego Padres.

Snell certainly had to appreciate the move. The Padres had been considered an up and coming team who had done more to upgrade their roster than any other team that offseason. Meanwhile, he had to think that he would be given more of an opportunity to pitch deeper into games as San Diego was assembling a dominant rotation.

Nothing has changed for Blake Snell with San Diego Padres

If that was Snell’s mindset, he has to be disappointed with the reality. He has yet to record an out in the sixth inning through his first four outings in San Diego this year; in fact, he has yet to pitch in the sixth inning in 2021. Nothing has changed with his usage despite being with a new franchise.

This has been a pattern for Snell over the past few years. He recorded outs in the sixth inning just four times in his 11 outings in 2020, failing to complete the sixth in any of those starts. The last time that Snell actually lasted a minimum of six innings was back on July 21, 2019 – he immediately landed on the Injured List due to surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow.

When Snell has been healthy, he has been dominant. He has pitched more than 130 innings only once in his career, and he won the Cy Young award that season. The problem is keeping Snell off the Injured List, which has been a relatively common occurrence during his career.

In theory, what the Padres are doing will help keep him healthy. By managing his innings and pitch count now, he should be able to pitch deeper into games as the season continues, allowing him to actually pitch beyond the sixth inning for the first time since 2019. At least, that is the hope.

Even though Blake Snell is with the San Diego Padres, nothing has changed. He has still yet to record an out in the sixth inning this season.