The Rays Trade Blake Snell to the Padres for a Bunch of Prospects They’ll Eventually Trade Away for More Prospects

The Tampa Bay Rays strategy to "compete" in the American League East is one of relying on prospects to play above their paychecks for a few seasons before they trade them for more prospects.

This strategy has resulted in two American League pennants and zero World Series rings.  They used this strategy to justify trading their best pitcher, Blake Snell, on Sunday to the Padres for prospects.

The San Diego Padres have acquired left-handed starter Blake Snell from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for a multi-player package, sources have confirmed to CBS Sports. The Rays will receive right-handers Luis Patino and Cole Wilcox, and catchers Blake Hunt and Francisco Mejia in the 4-for-1 trade. Neither team has announced the deal.

The claim is that the Rays aren't in a big market so they have to rely on prospects to compete.  This is of course horseshit.

While it is true that Tampa Bay doesn't generate the revenue of the AL East powerhouses, it's also true that while their revenues have increased, their payroll has gone down.

That doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon.  They will continue to compete, not win rings and act as an advanced Minor League system for other teams trying to win rings.

Getting out of Tampa Bay is great news for Blake.