Juan Soto’s meetings with owners around the leagues have dominated headlines recently, but he’s not the only high-profile free agent or Scott Boras client setting up meetings with team contingents. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that left-hander Blake Snell has held recent meetings with both the Red Sox and Dodgers. The Blue Jays are also pursuing Snell, per Rosenthal’s report, and could soon set up a meeting of their own. The Orioles are another potential club who could do so.
Both Boston and Los Angeles have reason to be in on high-end rotation help this summer, and the 32-year-old Snell, a two-time Cy Young winner, clearly fits the billing. Similarly, Snell has good motivation to push for a swifter free agency than last offseason, after lingering on the market into spring training and signing a two-year deal with an opt-out in San Francisco less than two weeks before Opening Day.
For the Red Sox, Snell would add a No. 1 starter to the top of a rotation that could lose Nick Pivetta to free agency after he rejected a qualifying offer. Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello are all rotation locks right now. Lucas Giolito will join them at some point in the season’s first half, but his timeline remains murky after he missed the entire 2024 season — his first in Boston — thanks to UCL surgery performed in spring training. Righty Garrett Whitlock is also on the mend from his own UCL procedure.
Candidates for the final two rotation spots at Fenway Park currently include Richard Fitts, Cooper Criswell, Quinn Priester and Zach Penrod. Criswell looked to have a leg up after a decent season, due to a lack of minor league options, but he’s reportedly eligible for a fourth option year, which gives the Sox even more flexibility with their staff.
Many Red Sox fans are understandably skeptical of the team’s willingness to follow through on pursuits of high-profile free agents. Boston faithful are still stinging from chairman Tom Werner’s widely mocked “full throttle” comments last offseason, which did not result in an acquisition larger than Giolito’s two-year, $38.5MM contract. But Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has taken a more aggressive stance himself this time around, declaring that it’s time for the Red Sox to “deliver the team that’s capable of winning the AL East” even if that means the Sox need to be “aggressive in bringing players in who aren’t currently in the organization.”
From a payroll perspective, the Red Sox have more than enough space to accommodate multiple big-ticket additions this winter. RosterResource currently projects Boston for a $138MM payroll and $171MM worth of luxury obligations. That projection is nearly $100MM shy of their franchise-record payroll, while their luxury ledger right now leaves them $70MM shy of the first tier threshold. Of course, the Red Sox haven’t been shy about paying the luxury tax in the past, either. They did so as recently as 2022 and have now reset their penalty level by dipping back under the tax line. The Red Sox have an extremely small arbitration class — just Houck, Crawford and Jarren Duran — and will only add Triston Casas, Connor Wong and perhaps Zack Kelly to that group in 2026.
Turning to the Dodgers, there’s an obvious case for Snell as a fit. Connections like this can often be more anecdotal than substantive, but it at least bears mentioning that Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was running baseball operations in Tampa Bay when the Rays drafted and developed Snell. Outside their deals for Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — two players with unique free agent circumstances — the Dodgers have preferred shorter-term, high-AAV deals in free agency. That could make Snell, whose maximum contract length is perhaps shorter than other top-tier starters because he’s about to turn 32 years old, a more typical “Dodgers” fit.
One deterrent for the Dodgers could be an already bloated luxury-tax bill. RosterResource pegs them at $270MM in obligations, meaning they’re already well into the second tier of penalty. Snell alone could push them into the fourth tier, particularly on a high-AAV short-term deal. Even using last year’s $31MM AAV as a hypothetical guideline — and Snell has a case for a higher one on another relatively short deal — Snell would cost the Dodgers nearly $57MM in year one of the contract. That’d also set the Dodgers up to pay a 110% tax on any dollars spent thereafter. Trades and non-tenders could lessen the sting, but likely not by much. Any free agent dollars spent by the Dodgers are going to hurt.
Still, the Dodgers likely feel they need to bite that bullet. The rotation in Los Angeles has nearly unmatched star power but similarly has nearly unrivaled question marks. Yamamoto, Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow make up a potentially dominant top three, but health concerns abound. Yamamoto missed more than two months with a shoulder injury in 2024. Glasnow was limited to only 22 starts last year, and his modest 134 innings represented a career-high. Ohtani didn’t pitch while recovering from the second UCL repair of his career.
Beyond that talented but risky top three are Tony Gonsolin (who missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery), Dustin May (who missed all of 2024 recovering from forearm surgery and an esophageal procedure) and Bobby Miller (a breakout 2023 rookie who struggled immensely in 2024). Highly touted young arms like Gavin Stone (shoulder surgery), River Ryan (Tommy John surgery), Emmet Sheehan (Tommy John surgery) and Kyle Hurt (Tommy John surgery) will miss some or all of the 2025 season. Dodgers icon Clayton Kershaw will be back on some form of incentive-laden deal — he’s already declared as much — though the two parties have yet to come to specific terms. Kershaw started just seven games last year.
Snell, of course, has his own lengthy injury history — including a pair of groin and adductor injuries that limited him to six awful starts in the season’s first two months with the archrival Giants. However, upon returning in early July, the lefty looked back to Cy Young form. He fired 12 shutout frames between his first two starts, kicking off a three-month run for the ages. Snell tossed a no-hitter at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park against the Reds, fanned 15 Rockies in a start at Coors Field and at one point went on a streak of four double-digit strikeout performances in five starts.
Over the final three months of the season, Snell was comically dominant. He pitched 80 1/3 innings with a jaw-dropping 1.23 ERA, complemented by an elite 38.1% strikeout rate and a 10% walk rate that’s higher than average but passable for someone who can miss bats at Snell’s level. It was only 14 starts, but Snell was the best pitcher in baseball from July 2 onward.
Snell has a history of slow starts and blistering second-half surges, but as I examined late in the season for MLBTR Front Office subscribers, many of his first-half struggles have come in conjunction with unusual spring circumstances (i.e. the shortened 2020 season, the accelerated ramp-up from the 2021-22 lockout, and signing in late March last year). True, there are pitchers who’ve succeeded in spite of similar circumstances, but we’ve also repeatedly seen late-signing pitchers struggle early in the year (e.g. Jordan Montgomery, Jake Odorizzi, Lance Lynn, to name a few). It’s eminently possible that Snell is the type of pitcher who simply needs a full runway to realize his best form. He’d hardly be alone in that regard, and that characteristic gives him all the more motivation to have a deal in place well before spring training begins.
Snell faces some notable competition on the free agent market. Some clubs may not want to spend aggressively on another free agent before they know the outcome of the Juan Soto auction, and even those willing to spend sooner than that will also have to weigh the merits of signing a 32-year-old Snell versus a 31-year-old Max Fried, 30-year-old Corbin Burnes or 29-year-old Jack Flaherty. Fried and Burnes have qualifying offers attached to them, whereas Snell and Flaherty do not; in other words, teams will have to forfeit draft picks and international bonus pool space to sign Fried or Burnes — but not Snell or Flaherty. Snell is three years older than Flaherty but also more accomplished. He certainly has his warts and carries plenty of risk, but it’s easy enough to see how a club could view Snell as the most appealing of this offseason’s top-tier starters when factoring in likely length of contract, draft compensation, track record, health and other factors.
I didn’t know Snell was turning 33 in a couple of weeks. I’m curious to see how many years he gets.
He’s about to turn 32. I shouldn’t have written he’s “already 32.” My mistake. I was thinking of how he’ll pitch next season at 32, but he’s still 31 as of this writing and will be 32 on Dec. 4.
As we wrote in our Top 50 post, Zack Greinke is the only pitcher in the past decade to get a deal longer than five years beginning at age 32 (six years, $206.5MM).
I do think Snell has a case to get six as well, but most clubs will probably tap out at five and I’m sure there are plenty that are limiting their interest to four years (probably at a super-premium AAV… $35MM+).
The walk issues won’t make him get 200 but 150 is definitely possible
Doesn’t sound like a team that thinks it’s a lock to sign Sasaki. I hope the Cubs aren’t thinking like that either.
Sasaki is going to come so cheap that he shouldn’t have any impact on FA. If the Dodgers (or any team) can afford a top tier pitching contract and have the need, they’re gonna shoot their shot at Sasaki too and hope they pull down 2 for the price of 1. There’s no such thing as too much pitching!
Steve, Is there any science relating to career innings, as opposed to chronological age, relative to which correlates more closely to injuries. He’s an old 31, but only with 1,096.2 IPs. I remember Boras saying that about Scherzer when the Nats signed him.
It made some sense, but i am not sure whether it is valid.
good vibes only
Sasaki is going to come so cheap that he shouldn’t have any impact on FA.
========================
I’ve been saying this since day 1. Seattle has 5 excellent starters. They could go on and sign Fried and Snell, but if Sasaki was available, they’d sign him without a second thought. He’s too inexpensive to even think about it.
I think Sasaki should be treated like the cherry on top of an ice cream sundae. Go about your business as usual and pretend he doesn’t exist, Go ahead and make your pitch to the guy and if he likes you then he’s the cherry and a bonus. I’d love him on the Cubs and they could go 6 man rotation to keep Imanaga and Sasaki on their usual routine. Steele, Tallion, Imanaga, Sasaki, Assad, and ( Brown, Wesneski, Wicks, Horton would keep them all fresh. But right now it’s just a dream. If they could sign another arm that didn’t involve a QO He should get him. I wouldn’t give up my 2nd and 5th round draft picks for one which thanks to Hoyer going over the tax by 300,000 or whatever it was. Also don’t see adding Thaiss as ” Shoring up the Catching” As the Cubs are ballyhooing it. A closer to pair with Hodge would go a long way. I hope Hoyer isn’t making the same mistake as last year and counting on Hodge as the only option like he did Alzolay last year, As much as I love Hodge’s potential.
DOB: 12/4/92 — he’s about to turn 32 y/o. I think MLBTR was rounding up considering his b-day is less than 2 weeks away.
Yeah about 54 weeks and he’s 33
Try 32
Looking like you swipe catalytic converters for beer money can keep you looking young.
I know I’m in the minority here because so many harp on his walks, but all things considered I’d love to have Snell over Burnes and Fried. and Crochet.
Snell can be counted on to pitch like Prime Pedro for at least 5 months of the season. He will cost less than Burnes, and he’s got a good track record at Fenway. I don’t like the idea of giving up a boatload of talent for Crochet, and Fried’s postseason numbers scare the crap out of me.
IMHO, if all things are considered, give me the better baseline or higher floor that Burnes and Fried have, though Snell has a higher ceiling.
Those TOR contracts have such a high failure rate that you need to be able to count on consistent IP from them throughout their deal. And considering Snell is ~1-2 years older than both, there’s more risk there, especially considering how many walks that come from him, especially during his Cy Young year where his strand rate was at a ridiculous rate. What do the kids say, “F- around and find out”? Put enough guys on, and you’re digging your own grave.
That being said, Fried’s arm issues are worrisome even for this Braves fan…I’d take Burnes over both of them though his stuff was down in ’24 and still producing.
Run – The fact that Snell will probably get 4-5 years compared to 7 years for Burnes makes Snell more attractive IMO …. less years, less dollars, less risk.
Also no QO attached to Snell, unlike Burnes and Fried.
Aren’t you concerned Burnes’ K% has dropped 4 consecutive years? From 37% down to 23% ….
Exactly. The shorter contracts for older pitchers more than makes up for the difference in attrition.
QO is important, but with a deal that size, it’s an afterthought. Teams that can afford that deal aren’t worried about 2nd or 3rd rd pick they’d use as trade bait in 4-5 years, frankly.
I’m more concerned with Snell has only pitched more than 128.2 IP/season twice in 9 years. Yes, those 2 seasons he won the Cy Young (amazing), but those other 6 full seasons he was just above average (110 OPS+ avg thru those 6 seasons).
Run – Only 3 of those 9 years was injury related, but yeah like most pitchers you never know for sure how many innings you’ll get from them.
The Red Sox have been obsessed with avoiding QO penalties, I think that is definitely a factor in them preferring Snell.
Realistically, I expect the Sox to sign a mid-tier SP like Flaherty.
They’ll get at least 1 of the big arms. I don’t remember who I connected them with, but I did have Soto/Burnes both going to NYM. I doubt Flaherty b/c I think they’ll devote that to bringing either Pivetta back, but that’s just IMO.
Run – Well I’ve been saying for a while I think Pivetta goes to your team ….. based on reports, it’s a real possibility.
The Sox need an ace who is a workhorse and that really isn’t Snell. Snell can be great for 5 innings but rarely goes more than that. The no-hitter against the Reds this season was an outlier and one of only 4 starts all season he threw at least 100 pitches
…if you’re reading a report about it, it’s not happening. They’ve been tied to every arm except Fried, lol.
Hmmm, by that logic than perhaps Fried is the one they end up with
2016 and 2020 were not full seasons for Snell so it would be 4 seasons. Two of those he started late as is referenced in the article and had an exceptionally good 2nd half.
Agreed. Sox need 170+ very good innings from their 2025 SP1.
Snell probably not that guy.
One of these years he’s gonna go out and throw 180 and everyone will point their fingers and say “see”
But, i dont think that Sox are in the position to wait that out.
I’d agree with you if Freeman, Swanson never happened. ATL knows Fried for better and for worse. They value value more than they value Fried. Unless he comes with a large insurance policy, they’re already researching who they’d take with that compensatory pick more than they are working an offer. Only way Fried ends up back in ATL is if his market softens significantly, which based on reports and momentum, I highly doubt that happens.
Is the QO penalty not a first round pick for players that get over a 5oM contract or am I mistaken?
Reds – Mistaken, under no situation do you lose a first round pick.
Pitchers face heavy attrition from age 29 on, so I’m not sure age matters nearly as much as current health and effectiveness . I would rather sign a 32 year old pitcher to a 4-5 year deal than a 29 year old pitcher to a 6-7 yer deal, all else equal.
tff – Yep, because any pitcher can go down with TJS at any age.
At least with Snell if it happens in Year 4 or Year 5 it’s not as big a deal as it happening in Year 4 or Year 5 with Burnes.
This was really good.
I think you are forgetting how good Pedro was. Didn’t walk nearly as many as Snell does. And Snell has only made 25+ starts in three of nine seasons.
Not sying you are wrong on Snell, just that comparing him to Pedro is like comparing me to Babe Ruth. Prime Pedro was one of the best pitchers ever.
In my opinion, the best ace for the Red Sox is the one they actually sign. They need to chase all three hard until they get one under contract. Crochet too.
tff – If I was starting a softball league team, I’d take you over Babe Ruth ;o)
Yeah the Pedro reference was off the top of my head, using Snell’s July thru September numbers (1.23 ERA, .123 BAA). I would never compare any full season of Snell’s to a full season of Pedro.
Snell:Pedro = tff17:Babe Ruth
You did poorly on analogy and comparison tests, clearly.
You think Snell is headed for the HOF? Sure…
FPG – I agree that Red Sox should make every (real) effort to trade for Crochet.
Still need a SP1. Of the three FA’s you mentioned I believe Snell is the most talented, but doesnt seem like a good fit for an East Coast team. Moreover, the Red Sox will not be highest dollar bidder.
Houck and Bello still have much development to do and could end up as a SP1 (ish) pitcher one day. I’d love for Breslow to be creative in trade market and get an SP1 with less than 5yrs left on their deal.
I feel like I’m in the minority (or maybe THE minority) that want the Sox to avoid Crochet like the plague. Career reliever (even in college) with one TJ surgery under his belt, one season as a starter with a drastically increased workload and zero track record to warrent the cost. Plus the demand of an extension to pitch in the postseason to inquiring teams last year sounds like a red flag to me. Was he already feeling something in his arm/elbow? I don’t know but i don’t like it
Rsox: Agreed. Crochet may wind up a reliever. He has not proven he has durability so far.
If you use the Dylan Cease deal as a measure for what the White Sox may be asking for Crochet, the Red Sox can easily afford the player/prospect asking price without losing any of the Big Four. At that price, its worth the risk of finding out if you have a front end SP or long term closer.
You have nothing because he is a free agent in 2 years. If he goes down mid-season (or even earlier) with an elbow issue you be doing nothing but paying for his rehab when leaves in free agency
Not a referendum on Grissom, but all that was is a salary dump.
We paid Paxton and Hendriks to NOT pitch for the team in ’22 and ’23 respectively. Sale was never anything but a gamer and a winner, i’d roll the dice there
Rsox, I agree on Crochet. I would pass on trading for him until the 2025 deadline. He need to show he can return and make quality starts before I would take a chance on him.
2 Top 100 prospects plus 2 others? That is a high price to pay for a guy that has essentially half a season of starts under his belt. After June he never went over 4 innings and most “starts” were 2 innings.
You basically just described every SP in baseball. Every pitch could hypothetically be there last.
Are you suggesting to never trade for, or sign, a SP and just have a steady stream of reliable home grown SP’s in perpetuity?
Not at all. But you don’t empty the farm for a guy coming off of major elbow surgery, starting for the first time and making demands for contract extensions without taking a long hard look at what you are getting into. This one definitely comes with a “buyer beware” sticker on it
Rsox – We can always differ on team building approach, but there’s more than one way to win. Sox have an overabundance of very marketable young players (even excluding Mayer, Teel, Anthony and Campbell). If you wanted to trade that instead for someone like Gallen, lets do that.
What I am suggesting is a trade and a signing. Sox need a SP1 and a lefty SP. There are myriad ways to get there.
That’s why Breslow gets the big bucks, right?
Why would AZ trade their ace and only reliable starter when they plan to compete still?
“someone like Gallen”
insert your SP1 of choice in there, it reads the same way
Which SP1’s are available? They’re virtually all in the same position as Gallen is with the Dbacks, ie almost untradeable since their team’s want to compete.
If I was going to make a list, I suppose it could be:
– Crochet (obviously)
– Sonny Gray (if a team offered to take his whole salary, but he said he wants to stay)
– Freddy Peralta (MIL wants to compete, he’s affordable and controllable, so you’d need a massive overpay)
– Luis Castillo if you took on the whole contract
– Bryan Woo (would require a huge package, and even then he doesn’t offer SP1 innings)
Idk if you have other guys in mind, but it seems like signing someone makes more sense at this point.
Maybe you pull off a trade for Castillo/Crochet/Peralta and then sign Flaherty/Eovaldi/Kikuchi/Manaea…ideally some combo of lefty and righty.
Not putting up my Holiday Wishlist, much like many other teams, the Sox need two SP’s..
Signing one and perhaps trading for one.
Here are two examples (use your own name for the sake of conversation rather than focusing on the names in my post). :
Scenario 1) Sign a lefty at the lower end of free agency like Andrew Heaney. and trade for Luis Castillo
Scenario 2) Sign Flaherty and trade for Crochet
The Sox have both the prospects and the money for these types of moves without suffering a Luxury Tax penalty
Sad – I think you’re being overly optimistic in believing the Sox will acquire 2 of Crochet, Snell, Fried or Burnes. If they acquire Crochet, he likely WILL be their perceived #1 SP. I just really don’t like the idea of giving him a fat extension without his proving he can provide 180 quality innings in a season.
If they land Crochet, that will likely be it for SP acquisitions unless you’re talking Boyd, Montas, Flaherty, Buehler, Heaney, Quintana, Eovaldi etc. I sure wouldn’t mind Nasty Nate on a 2-year deal.
You might get 100 innings out of snell. I prefer my number 1 to be reliable.
Unless he has money on the table he doesn’t try. He would be a terrible choice
@Fever Pitch Guy Given Snell has beaten 130 innings all of twice, he really doesn’t pitch like Prime Pedro for at least five months of the season. He hasn’t even pitched five months of the season more than twice in eight tries, and never mind the three seasons with a FIP over 3.80.
If Snell was at least 5/6ths of Pedro he’d be on a solid path to the Hall of Fame. He’s nowhere close, and won’t get close.
john henry has brought 4 chips but he gotta show me he’s still in it to win it. he hasn’t done a thing post covid
No you don’t sound entitled. Not at all…..
I don’t know if it’s as much a desire to win as it is making terrible decisions after 2018. It’s like the owners and front office were zapped with a stupid ray. They extend Chris Sale and Nathan Eovaldi instead of using that money on Betts. They trade Sale and all of a sudden he is an MVP candidate. It’s almost getting into Carolina Panthers and NY Jets territory where post 2018 Red Sox players go and are better elsewhere.
I don’t know if it’s as much a desire to win as it is making terrible decisions after 2018.
========================
Before 2018, they were one of the best long-term thinkers in baseball. They had the 4 WSCs, but I think they thought being a B2B winner would define “dynasty”, since it’s been a long time since anyone won B2B.
But even at that, no matter how much people complain, I’d have re-signed both Sale & Eovaldi at those prices. I think they got a bit unlucky. Some of the subsequent signings weren’t as good, but those two should’ve delivered a lot more.
You would have heard the crying all the way from Boston to Japan if the Red Sox didn’t re sign those 2 guys. It would have been deafening.
Agreed Joe.
Chaim and Breslow were getting bad info from Sox analytics bench in regards to MLB team, while spending too much time being “smartest guy in the room” on minor league reaches and reclamation projects.
What was left on Sale’s contract going into 2024 season was by no means an albatross for the next 2-3 years, and would look affordable now, even if he didnt have a Cy Young year at Fenway. IMO, change of scenery and spite fueled his run this year, and ok, good for him, but saving $20mm left the Sox in a lurch.
Even if Sale has a solid, yet unspectacular year, the Sox may have made up the 7 wins that kept them out of the playoffs..
Not to mention deciding it was Devers they were going to sign to a giant contract, 10/313m for a 3-4 win 3Bman.
Shocking misjudgment.
Yes, the Red Sox spent lavishly under Henry for 20yrs and won four Titles, and has taken time and treasure to fix Fenway..
Thank you John.
That said, cant continue to charge highest prices in mlb while underspending on the field.
Stars still win games regardless of the metrics (right Mookie, Freddy and Shohei?) I’m not suggesting trying to outspend the Dodgers, but you have a pretty profitable commodity at Fenway even if you spend significantly more than last year.
Again this is what entitlement sounds like. Good gosh man.
What in the world do you mean, entitled? I said i’m not asking to be the highest payroll, or even crossing LT threshold……but in a down year in the A.L, another $20mm in payroll last year (either at beginning of year or even at trade deadline) would have put Sox in the playoffs.
What 20 million dollar magical player puts the Red Sox in the playoffs last year?
What would have been good for the Red Sox is not trading Chris Sale and then signing Giolito. That’s what would have helped them reach the playoffs they traded the Cy Young winner away for a nobody prospect.
Why so angry?
Lets examine the premise. Sox, miserable as they were, finished 7 wins out of a playoff spot.
Chris Sale’s 2024 salary with the Sox wouldve been $27mm and is exactly the guy I hade in mind. He could’ve swung the team 7 games on his own.
Or, how about adding Flaherty, Kikuchi or basically any SP rather than throwing “bullpen days” down the stretch? that would’ve cost well under $20mm…
I wish the Rays could bring Snell back, but their usual reluctance to spend will hurt them. Not to mention their stadium situation. I agree that it’ll be difficult to attract free agents while playing in a minor league park in the Florida summer.
Snell hates the rays now I think
sad – Why? For pulling him in the WS?
A typical Rays offseason shopping list contains a couple of trades, waiver claims, non-roster invites and the odd reclamation project. Once in a while they buy an item on sale rather than shopping the clearance section. They aren’t worried about attracting free agents because they aren’t actively trying. You have to go back all the way to 2000 for the last time the Rays were “players” in free agency
I prefer when teams develop their own pitching.
Big if true
Apropos of nothing else, Blake Snell is not one of the more handsome MLB players-I shudder everytime I see his pic
“I can handle ugly, but this is like circus-ugly”
Dude straight up looks like Anton Lavey
Made me look. Thanks for that.
Rsox – If Clay Buccholz and Kid Rock had a child together …..
It’s like in-bred ugly.
No one can mock Snell if this mach schnell.
I got a feeling this offseason is going to drag on, even worse than last year.
I cant wait till brayan bello finally breaks out this year.
I expect a top 5 CY finish, and maybe an ERA title.
Fem – Hope you’re right!!! He regressed this year, but he did improve in the second half.
Fever –
I mean hey, he got the Sox 14 wins :3
and 153 K’s
He just needs to learn how to give up less runs early, and be consistent
Fem – And not implode when something goes wrong like an error or a bad call by the ump.
You gotta seriously wonder if the Dodgers should change how they develop pitchers.
It seems like they’re in the process of evaluating that. Also seems certain the MLB club will employ a 6-man rotation next season. Will be interesting to see if they decide to apply the same concept to their minor league pitching staffs.
I’m sure they are constantly evaluating process, but I doubt they will do anything much differently, and not especially based on a run of bad luck. Randomness is not a pattern, and we should know from watching the game that pitchers come in two flavors: those who have been injured, and those who will be.
Snell a great fit in LA, his stuff plays up the postseason! Dollar amounts don’t scare Dodger ownership group only length of contract, high AAV will get a deal done!
Agreed Terry
He’s amazing in the postseason, he even has a save!
What postseason was that? He gets pulled in the fourth most of the time.
@mets
Google is your friend
So use it and tell me what postseason he excelled in.
@mets
.
2019 postseason stats for Blake Snell:
3 games: 7K’s and only one earned run including a save.
2020 was great as well, 3.03 ERA.
So 2020 he was considered the ace of the Rays pitching staff. He couldn’t even average 5 innings per start. Is that what we want to pay 35 million a year for an ace to do? Are we really lowering our standards to hoping for a bullpen game in the fifth tied 2-2?
@metsin4. He also missed his last start, because it didn’t matter. That’s his problem it’s really not about the team. I rather take my chances with fried or beiber.
Is it that he couldn’t average 5 IP / start or that the team didn’t let him pitch more than that?
There is a reason both teams wouldn’t let him pitch more than that. He gets to 100 pitches and becomes ineffective.
He has a 2.48 career ERA after the 5th inning.
Pitch 101+ – .185 batting average against
Incredibly though, he only has 7 career starts in which he’s gone into the 8th, but that’s the way it is these days.
Dodgers should stick with the bullpen game and sign Snell to be the “bulk guy.”
I take it that Blake Snell will sign earlier this off season than last?
Lefty – I’d say that’s a certainty.
Dodgers should sign Snell,Maax Fried, Juan Soto and Santander
sounds like an MLB the show team.
Has any team in history even approached the amount of proven rotation arms the Dodgers have – injured or otherwise – in their organization?
If/when healthy, they could come close to filling out three full teams worth.
If they ever DO get healthy at the same time, there’s going to be a LOT of “pink slips” handed out.
The Dodgers pitching staff has proven that they can’t stay healthy.
Must be something in the water.
Or lack thereof.
Snell is exactly the type of signing that would make John Henry say “I spent money and look what happened!!”
The Sox meeting with Big FAs is like a company having a pizza party when morale is down. They’re not fixing the problem but making it look like they care.
Hahahaha, perfect description.
“Oh, and by the way, four of you need to pack your desks up after lunch today due to layoffs”
Would be a terrible signing for the Sox if he’s being signed as an ace
Glasnow wasn’t limited to 22 starts, that’s the most he’s ever had in a season. Glasnow excelled to 22 starts!
I wonder if the BlueJays have a shot at signing him, since the BlueJays budget is frozen by ownership at last year’s levels. (except for signing Soto where they would create a second budget to accommodate him.)
In order to make a decision between FA SPs like Burnes, Snell and others I would rely on medical results (basic physical, MRI of shoulder, elbow etc.) to determine the length of contract and total $ I would offer. Cautionary Tales of Patrick Corbin and Stephen Strasburg
I think what many commenters are talking about is an analysis of things like age, total IP thrown (despite any TJS or not downtime) – wear and tear on the body, unique deliveries, stamina/conditioning and pitches that stress the body more. You could have a slightly Older SP with less mileage on his arm so to speak. As an e.g. a smaller frame like Stroman may need his IPs shortened to maintain his effectiveness as he ages
As an example Jack Morris had a long career and was a real durable starter. Sometimes the taller guys 6 2 64 maybe be able to endure the aches and pains to produce good results
They usually say pitching is such an unnatural motion that puts a lot of stress on the body. Josh Beckett was an excellent pitcher who called it quits after 14 seasons but won 2 World Series with MIA and BOS.
A summary of previous comments:
If the Dodgers sign Snell, it’s a savvy move by an organization that prioritizes winning.
If the Red Sox sign Snell, it’s a colossal waste of money by an organization that doesn’t care about winning.
Well, yes. LOL
Snell is a finishing piece for a championship team.
He’s not a workhorse. for a team that needs innings and toughness
blue jays: the susan lucci of mlb
dasit – The only reason I know who she is, because my Mom used to watch AMC every day. LOL
same here!
Dodgers 🙂
I don’t like the idea of signing Snell one bit.
They need to sign someone. We can’t go another year with 3 or 4 starting pitchers and an overworked bullpen. I will be happy if they sign any healthy starting pitcher that could be plugged in at the top of the rotation. There is no Pedro available, so we need to take a chance on someone. Ideally 2 solid starters. Yes, most have some downsides, but let’s roll the dice and cash in the poker chips.
The healthy part may not apply to Snell and his ability to continue to function at the top of the rotation given his age and inability to consistently pitch beyond five innings could be disastrous.
If you get Snell, he’s not going to eat innings for the bullpen. More than likely you’ll need the bullpen if and when he pitches
I just think about the games when they did not even have a starter and they had the bullpen pitch the whole game with several pitchers going multiple innings and get used again the next game. 5 solid innings from a starter is better than that. Are there any pitchers available that are going to give you 7+ innings each game? That would be great but seems less and less common.
It wasn’t that we didn’t have starters. Cora was upset with “resting” pitchers and overusing the bullpen.
I wonder out of the 2 teams who’ll sign him
Too much talk by the front office, we’ve been on the losing side for five straight years now.
Just sign Snell/Sasaki, and Teoscar, then trade for Crochet and add some damn relief pitching.
It makes me sick, but Snell will probably sign with the Dodgers, I would if I were him, the Dodgers really know how to get creative with salary money. He’d have a good chance for a national league ring.
Snell should be a hard pass for my beloved Red Sox. He’d end up another version of Chris Sale, have a decent season followed by a string of never ending injuries.
Red Sox brass willing to spend John Henry’s money. Is John ready to spend his money? I predict they’ll increase payroll without exceeding the CBT. Time will tell.