Snell, Hader decline qualifying offers, set to test free agency

SAN DIEGO -- Pitchers Blake Snell and Josh Hader declined the Padres’ qualifying offer on Tuesday and will remain on the free-agent market.

None of the seven MLB players who received a qualifying offer this year accepted it.

The qualifying offer is a one-year deal worth the average of the sport's top 125 salaries -- a number that was set at $20.325 million this year. Had Snell or Hader accepted, they would have remained with the Padres with that salary for 2024. Because they declined, San Diego will receive Draft pick compensation if they sign elsewhere.

Because the Padres’ payroll exceeded the Competitive Balance Tax threshold, that compensation will be a Draft pick after the fourth round.

Snell, 30, is hitting free agency in full stride. The left-hander is the favorite to be named the NL Cy Young Award winner on Wednesday after going 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA and 234 strikeouts. He led the Majors in ERA, ERA+ (182) and fewest hits per nine innings (5.8).

Hader, 29, also is on the open market during his prime. The lefty closer had a 1.28 ERA in 61 appearances in 2023, notching 33 saves and earning his fifth All-Star nod.

The Padres had not made a qualifying offer since 2015, when outfielder Justin Upton and pitcher Ian Kennedy were free agents. Upton and Kennedy signed elsewhere, and San Diego used its compensation picks the following year on infielder Hudson Potts (No. 24 overall) and pitcher Eric Lauer (No. 25).

Potts was traded to Boston in 2020 in a deal that brought Mitch Moreland to San Diego. Potts hasn’t reached the Majors and is a Minor League free agent after spending 2023 in the Braves’ organization. Lauer reached the big leagues with the Padres in 2018 and moved to Milwaukee after the following season in the Trent Grisham trade. Lauer elected free agency last month after the Brewers assigned him to Triple-A Nashville.

MLB.com Padres beat writer AJ Cassavell contributed to this report.