The Boston Red Sox produced their third straight non-winning season in 2024 with an 81-81 record. President of baseball operations Craig Breslow could be on the verge of making aggressive moves this winter so Boston can compete for a postseason spot in 2025. Could those plans include landing two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell via free agency?
"Every team in baseball is well served by having someone at the front of the rotation that can win a game when the team needs it, win a playoff game," Breslow said on Oct. 2, via The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey. "I think fortunately we saw a number of guys in the rotation this year take a step forward. I don't want to devalue the job that guys like Tanner (Houck) and Brayan (Bello) and Kutter (Crawford) and others did. But at the same time, we need to get better, and we need to be open to any opportunity to do that."
When listing out potential aces the Red Sox could pursue, McCaffrey mentioned Corbin Burnes, Max Fried and Jack Flaherty. But now that Snell has opted out of his two-year, $62 million deal with the San Francisco Giants, he can be added to that list.
Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer shared early predictions on where several free agents could land. He's predicting the Red Sox sign Snell to a four-year, $140 million contract.
The southpaw would be a worthy addition to the front of Boston's starting rotation. Even with a slow start and a stint on the injured list in 2024, Snell posted a 3.12 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 145 strikeouts in 104 innings for San Francisco. When looking at his past three seasons, the southpaw has produced an impressive 2.82 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with 550 strikeouts through 412 innings.
Landing with the Red Sox in the American League East also wouldn't be too unfamiliar for the 31-year-old. He spent the first five years of his MLB career pitching in the AL East for the Tampa Bay Rays.
