Trade rumor-mongers were dealt a tremendous blow Sunday as the Padres and Rays completed a deal for Blake Snell that effectively eliminated both teams as potential Cubs partners this offseason. San Diego had been connected to Yu Darvish, who was reportedly “fairly priced to market,” but moving two pitching prospects, a catching prospect, and a big-league catcher means the Pads aren’t swinging another big deal.
The return of catchers Francisco Mejía and Blake Hunt along with righties Luis Patiño and Cole Wilcox looks good from a volume standpoint, but it probably wouldn’t have made much sense for the Cubs.