Reigning Cy Young Winner is Reportedly Still on the Boston Red Sox's Radar
Two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell is on the Boston Red Sox's radar, WEEI's Rob Bradford reported Saturday afternoon.
Boston has been tied to many of the top pitchers on the free agent market – including Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shota Imanaga and Lucas Giolito – but Snell may be the most accomplished among them. And with Aaron Nola returning to the Philadelphia Phillies, Eduardo Rodriguez joining the Arizona Diamondbacks, Sonny Gray going to the St. Louis Cardinals and Kenta Maeda signing with the Detroit Tigers, the Red Sox's options are starting to dwindle.
Snell won the National League Cy Young Award this past season, going 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA, 1.189 WHIP, 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings and a 6.0 WAR as a member of the San Diego Padres.
The Padres traded for Snell in the 2021 offseason, poaching him from the Tampa Bay Rays. Snell won the American League Cy Young Award in 2018 – the same year he made his lone All-Star appearance – and he was the Rays' ace on their way to the AL pennant in 2020.
For his career, Snell is 71-55 with a 3.20 ERA, 1.235 WHIP, 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings and a 21.1 WAR.
The 31-year-old left-hander has never missed a full year due to injury, but bumps, bruises and load management have prevented him from ever exceeding 181 innings in any given regular season. Snell's 32 starts in 2023 were a career high, helping him pitch more than 130 innings for just the second time in his eight-year MLB career.
Snell also has a hit-or-miss track record against the rest of the AL East, considering his 4.32 ERA in 26 starts versus the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees and his 2.52 ERA in 15 starts versus the Rays and Toronto Blue Jays.
Still, the Red Sox have lacked a true ace in recent years due to Chris Sale's constant injury issues. Meanwhile, veteran James Paxton is a free agent, and 24-year-old Brayan Bello appears to be the only pitcher currently on Boston's roster who has a guaranteed spot in the rotation. Tanner Houck, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford and Garrett Whitlock have all been streaky and spent extended time coming out of the bullpen over the past few seasons.
Snell would instantly provide stability atop Boston's rotation, while also giving manager Alex Cora and new pitching coach Justin Willard room to use their younger arms how they see fit.
Snell entered the offseason as MLB.com's No. 3 overall free agent, and Spotrac is projecting him to earn a six-year, $144 million contract this winer.
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