American League Teams Viewed as Probable Landing Spots For Top Remaining Ace Pitchers
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, team executives around baseball expect that left-handed pitchers Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery will likely sign with a pair of American League teams.
Per Nightengale:
MLB team executives widely believe that two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell will ultimately sign with the Los Angeles Angels or possibly the San Francisco Giants, while Texas Rangers’ postseason hero Jordan Montgomery will wind up with the Boston Red Sox.
With regards to Snell, he has been connected to the New York Yankees a lot this offseason. There were also reports earlier in the offseason that he wanted to play with his hometown Seattle Mariners.
In the Angels, there's the potential for the best of all worlds: Snell gets to stay on the West Coast, where he's from, and gets to go to a deep-pocketed ownership. The Angels also desperately need a pitcher in the wake of losing Shohei Ohtani in free agency.
Snell is coming off a year in which he went 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA for the San Diego Padres. He won his second Cy Young Award, having also won the AL Cy Young award in 2018. With regards to the San Francisco Giants, new manager Bob Melvin was just Snell's manager in San Diego, if he really wanted Snell, wouldn't he have already pushed for it?
As for Montgomery, he had been connected to the Rangers earlier this offseason, but they appear to have moved on. Given the Red Sox' need for starting pitching, he is a perfect fit for them, but there's no telling just how far ownership is willing to extend itself in order to get him.
Montgomery was an integral part of the Rangers winning their first World Series title in 2023, going 4-2 in the regular season in 11 starts with a 2.79 ERA. He was traded to Texas at the trade deadline from the St. Louis Cardinals.
All in all, he's pitched seven years in the big leagues with the Yankees, Cardinals and Rangers. He's 38-34 with a 3.68 lifetime ERA.
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