The Boston Red Sox front office has indicated a focus on strengthening one specific area of the roster. In an interview with the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, the team’s chief baseball officer, Craig Breslow, emphasized the need for another top-tier starting pitcher for the rotation.
“We know we need to raise the ceiling of the rotation,” Breslow said. “I think there are a lot of ways to do that, but we’re going to be really, really open-minded.”
One clear way for the Red Sox to boost their pitching staff would be to sign one of the top free-agent arms available. Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report has speculated that the Red Sox might do just that by offering Giants star a five-year, $158 million contract this offseason. After winning his second Cy Young Award and earning an All-MLB First Team selection in 2023, Snell struggled to secure a long-term deal last winter, ultimately signing a one-year contract with the San Francisco Giants. Now, having declined his $30 million player option for 2025, Snell is set to test the free-agent market again, and the Red Sox could be the team to land him with a major offer.
“He rebounded from a difficult first half this past season with the Giants to perform like one of the best pitchers in baseball after the All-Star break, posting a 1.45 ERA across 12 starts in the second half of the season,” Kelly noted of Snell. “And unlike last year, there’s no qualifying offer attached to Snell, so any team that signs him wouldn’t have to give up draft compensation.”
Blake Snell has not typically accumulated a high number of innings throughout his nine-year MLB career, but he has managed to make at least 20 starts in each of the past four seasons. If he were to join the Red Sox, he would immediately become the staff’s ace, joining Lucas Giolito and possibly Nick Pivetta as seasoned veterans, along with Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello, and Garrett Whitlock, depending on how the team’s offseason develops. If the Red Sox aim to take a significant step toward postseason contention while maintaining their core of young prospects, signing a top-tier free agent could be the right strategy. Offering Snell the long-term contract he’s seeking would undoubtedly elevate the potential of the team’s rotation for the 2025 season.
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