Impact The second-place finisher in the National League West -- the Giants or Dodgers -- has already locked up the first wild-card spot, while less than three games separate the Cardinals, Phillies, Padres and Reds for the second and final postseason berth. Even though the Padres are still in contention, the decimated state of the pitching staff coupled with the team's sluggish offense in recent weeks have seemingly left San Diego limping to the finish line. With that in mind, Snell appears more likely than not to be done for 2021, as he has yet to resume throwing since sustaining the left adductor strain during his Sept. 12 start. If the Padres are on the brink of elimination during the final week of the regular season, there's a high likelihood the team won't entertain having Snell ramp up and instead hand him ample recovery time to overcome the injury. Snell has largely failed to meet expectations during his first season in San Diego, but before going down with the injury, he had usurped Yu Darvish as the team's clear No. 1 starter since the beginning of August. Over his last eight starts, Snell turned in a 1.83 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and a 65:14 K:BB across 44.1 innings.
SEPTEMBER 19, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
