San Diego Padres fans rage at news that two of their team's most tradeable pitchers are reportedly off the block

By now, it is safe to label the San Diego Padres as one of, if not the most, disappointing clubs of the 2023 MLB season. Seemingly victims of their own star power, the August 1 trade deadline will be an interesting day.

After making it all the way to the NLCS last year, fans in Southern California began paying attention to their ball team again. As such, GM AJ Preller sprang into action to sign the best talent that he could.

The Friars went out and inked Xander Bogaerts to $280 million over 10 seasons, and committed to paying 2022 MVP runner-up Manny Machado $300 over a similar span. Moreover, bats like Juan Soto and the returning Fernando Tatis Jr. had fans buzzing.

Now, with a 48-52 record, the San Diego Padres stand a full 10 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. With the playoffs looking increasingly unlikely, some believe that it will be time to ship some latent talent off come deadline day.

"The Padres are currently not expected to trade Blake Snell or Josh Hader, per @Alden_Gonzalez" - Talkin' Baseball

However, reports from ESPN's Alden Gonzalez that neither Blake Snell nor Josh Hader is on the block have left fans troubled. Long expected to be sacrificial lambs of the trade deadline, Padres fans are not sure:

After the New York Mets and Yankees, the Padres' $207 million payroll is the fattest in the league. If postseason baseball is not coming, carrying that amount will not be sustainable.

One of the league's best closers, Josh Hader's opponents have a mere .152 average against him since he entered the league in 2017. He has $14 million on a one-year contract following a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers last year and was seen as a prime rental player who could be traded up.

Additionally, former Cy Young winner Blake Snell has been magnificent for the San Diego Padres. In addition to striking out 143 batters over 105 innings, the former Tampa Bay Rays star has an NL-Best ERA of 2.67, making him juicy trade material to be sure.

San Diego Padres fans do not seem to know what they want

For Padres fans, the charade of not knowing whether to sell it all or keep attempting to contend is an abiding one. One thing is for sure; the current situation has not worked.

Perhaps Hader and Snell will remain in San Diego, but without a winning style, it will only be so long before this star-studded cast of players will need to be broken apart.