The Boston Red Sox are keeping an eye on two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI on Saturday afternoon.
While Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shota Imanaga, and Lucas Giolito are among the elite pitchers Boston has been linked to, Snell might be the most accomplished of them all. The Red Sox’s options are also beginning to run out with Eduardo Rodriguez joining the Arizona Diamondbacks, Sonny Gray going to the St. Louis Cardinals, Kenta Maeda signing with the Detroit Tigers, and Aaron Nola returning to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Blake Snell remains a pitcher of interest to the Red Sox among the many others.
Snell has a career record of 71-55, a 1.235 WHIP, a 3.20 ERA, 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings, and a 21.1 WAR.
This past season, Snell, a member of the San Diego Padres, went 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA, 1.189 WHIP, 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings, and 6.0 WAR. He also won the National League Cy Young Award.
In the 2021 offseason, the Padres acquired Snell through trade, stealing him away from the Tampa Bay Rays. In 2018, Snell was named the American League Cy Young Award winner. That same year, he made his only appearance in the All-Star game. In 2020, Snell led the Rays to the AL pennant.
Snell has a career record of 71-55, a 1.235 WHIP, a 3.20 ERA, 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings, and a 21.1 WAR.
The left-hander, 31, has never missed a full season due to injury, but he has never exceeded 181 innings in a regular season due to bumps, bruises, and load management. Snell pitched more than 130 innings for just the second time in his eight-year MLB career in 2023, thanks to a career-high 32 starts.
Given his 4.32 ERA in 26 starts against the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees and his 2.52 ERA in 15 starts against the Rays and Toronto Blue Jays, Snell’s record against the rest of the AL East is similarly hit-or-miss.
Nevertheless, Chris Sale’s persistent injury problems have prevented the Red Sox from having a true ace in recent years. As for the other pitchers on Boston’s roster, 24-year-old Brayan Bello seems to be the only one with a guaranteed spot in the rotation, while veteran James Paxton is a free agent. Over the past few seasons, Tanner Houck, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, and Garrett Whitlock have all been inconsistent and have come out of the bullpen for prolonged periods of time.
Snell would give manager Alex Cora and new pitching coach Justin Willard flexibility to use their younger arms however they see fit, while also providing stability at the top of Boston’s rotation right away.
Snell was ranked as MLB.com’s third-best free agent going into the offseason, and Spotrac predicts that he will sign a six-year, $144 million contract this winter.
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