The Tampa Bay Rays traded away one of their best players on Thursday night when they sent Tommy Pham to the San Diego Padres, and Blake Snell happened to be live on Twitch when he learned of the big move. That did not work out so well for the star pitcher, and he has since issued an apology.
When Snell caught wind that Pham had been traded to San Diego for Hunter Renfroe and Xavier Edwards, he criticized the Rays for giving up Pham for “Renfroe and damn slapd–k prospect.” You can see the video of his reaction here.
Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reached out to Snell for a comment on the situation, and the 27-year-old apologized for his remarks. He said he was just upset to hear that Pham had been dealt.
“I apologized on (Twitch) just saying I’m sorry I’m just upset we’re losing a guy like Tommy who helped our team in so many ways!” Snell said in a text message. “Didn’t mean any disrespect to Edwards who I didn’t know who he was until after I said that. I was just sad to lose Tommy. … Pretty much we could’ve got (Nationals star rookie Juan) Soto, I was just sad to lose Tommy. It’s tough losing someone you respect so much and enjoy being around.”
Snell probably regrets that he insulted his new teammates on a public forum, but you can’t blame him for reacting negatively to the trade. Pham batted .273 with 33 doubles, 21 homers, 25 stolen bases and an .818 OPS for a Rays team that won 96 games and made it to the ALDS last season. Renfroe is a career .235 hitter and Edwards is a 20-year-old prospect who was drafted in the first round last year.
Snell, who won the Cy Young Award in 2018, has now been unhappy with the Rays in two consecutive offseasons. He’s quickly learning that playing for a franchise with no money can be quite frustrating.
