For Padres fans, this will be bittersweet. Starting pitcher Blake Snell and closer Josh Hader were both named to baseball's All-MLB 1st Team on Saturday. That means the Friars had two of the best players at their positions in all of Major League Baseball on their roster.
It's a heck of an accomplishment for a team to feature that kind of talent, which makes the fact neither guy is going to back in a San Diego uniform next year hurt just a little bit more.
Snell won his second Cy Young Award while Hader saved 33 games while allowing just 32 hits in 2023. Both of their contracts are up, both were offered and declined the qualifying offer, and both are almost certainly going to end up signing with a new team this off-season. Still, they provided plenty of memorable moments for the Friar Faithful and are keeping alive a nice San Diego streak.
The All-MLB Team was started in 2019 and every year it's featured at least one Padre on the 1st team:
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2019: RHP Kirby Yates (1st team)
2020: 3B Manny Machado, SS Fernando Tatis Jr. (1st team); RHP Dinelson Lamet (2nd team)
2021: SS Fernando Tatis Jr. (1st team)
2022: 3B Manny Machado (1st team)
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