Read on Twitter
So a few things. For starters folks let's try to engage in rational discussion and not ankle bite at people for understandably being upset. You can understand the Snell trade and all the reasons why and still be sad about him being dealt... part of being a fan...
So, about the why, because pitchers from the #Rays almost always will be dealt (Cobb was not), but its usually with 2 years left on their deal, not 3. Obviously money is a factor here, COVID ties into that... whether you believe it should be or shouldn't be is up to you
Of course on that front given the #Rays reputation as thrifty, many aren't as wont to give them the benefit of the doubt and would assume they'd make this deal anyway- also possible. But there is no alternative universe so we're not gonna speculate on that further here.. (thread)
I think you have to look at the factor(and this will come into play all over MLB but, discussion for another day). Building up a starting pitcher to a normal workload after a shortened season will be difficult to do, how does a team manage it but avoid injuries?
If you've accepted that Snell would be dealt with 2 years left, rather than 3, then you're hoping he stays healthy through the 2021 season. The risk of injury is higher and if heaven forbid he suffers a longterm injury, both he and the Rays are in a pickle.
So as an organization that has to maximize value in order to continually contend on a shoestring budget, I believe that they weighed the possibility of such an injury being more likely to occur under the circumstances and opted to pull the trigger 1 year sooner to avoid disaster
