After going 81-81 in 2024, the Boston Red Sox face a lot of pressure heading into the 2025 season. The fanbase is tired of the recent mediocrity, and the want for a big splash in free agency has quite possibly never been higher. The best possible direction for them could bring one of the best pitchers in baseball back to the American League East.
Blake Snell currently sits in free agency as one of if not the top arm on the market. There may not be a team that needs him more than the Red Sox. While their rotation has some very solid pitchers, there’s nobody older than 28-years old. Adding a 31-year old two-time Cy Young winner to be the ace could benefit not just your win column, but your entire rotation’s development.
Tanner Houck was phenomenal for Boston in 2024, earning an All Star appearance and recording a 3.12 ERA in 178.2 innings pitched. He’s currently the projected number one in this rotation and that’s not matching up very well with the rest of the division, especially if Corbin Burnes re-signs with Baltimore.
With solid middle of the rotation pieces like Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello who should both take steps forward in 2025, the Red Sox simply need an ace. Blake Snell is just that. While he’s only been an All Star once in his nine seasons in the majors he’s won the ERA title twice, and as previously mentioned the Cy Young Award twice.
In 2024 over the course of 104 innings pitched this season, Snell was solid for San Francisco recording a 3.12 ERA with a 5-3 record. He ranked in the 98th percentile among all qualified pitchers for both strikeout and whiff rate, and ranked in the 99th percentile for hard-hit rate. The advanced metrics show when he’s on the mound he’s simply one of the best in baseball.
Signing Snell would have the projected starting rotation for the Red Sox looking like this in 2025:
- Blake Snell LHP
- Tanner Houck RHP
- Kutter Crawford RHP
- Brayan Bello RHP
- Richard Fitts RHP
The Snell signing could very well mean a move of Cooper Criswell to the bullpen given Richard Fitts looked promising in a small amount of innings across four starts. Criswell also came out of the bullpen eight times in 2024, making a switch for him seemingly more likely.
While the bullpen could use some more work this would be a big team-altering move going after an ace like Snell. When looking at the batting order and the field as a whole, it’s clear the need for a pitcher is higher than that of a position player.
The outfield looks pretty set in the near future. Jarren Duran has a set spot there whether it’s in center field or left. Wilyer Abreu had an incredible rookie campaign as well and if he’s not on the trading block, he should be expected to hold another corner outfield spot. Cedanne Rafaela can play around the middle infield, but with prospects coming up in 2025, that seems more unlikely and he’ll probably stick to center field.
The Red Sox young core developing in their farm system is just about ready to make the step up to the big league club in 2025. For this reason, signing a big-name bat may be better suited for when the organization knows what they have from these prospects at the next level.Boston currently has three prospects ranked within the top ten of MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects in baseball. Roman Anthony currently sits as their number one overall prospect and looks poised to take up a spot in the corner outfield at some point in 2025.
Marcelo Mayer is next up as the second overall prospect in Boston’s system. The shortstop has been one of the most hyped prospects in this system, and will certainly at some point be able to take an infield spot in 2025. Mayer’s success would eliminate the need of having to sign a big name infielder.
Then there’s their third overall prospect Kristian Campbell. After a transformative 2024 season, Campbell took home Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year honors, and with his positional versatility is incredibly valuable to the Red Sox. Lastly there’s Kyle Teel. The fourth overall prospect in the system looks poised to man behind the plate in Fenway very soon, and he should be up around the same time of the three previously mentioned names.
While any of these names could be traded to strengthen the lineup or bullpen, there is definitely the thought process that you could sign a big name pitcher this offseason and see what you have with these prospects. If they’re good then the Red Sox can be good for a long time. If they don’t seem to be panning out you can try to get some kind of return afterwards.
With a budding young group of prospects ready to break the big league club soon, signing a pitcher like Snell makes way more sense. Snell can come into a competitive division as a new ace for a historic franchise that desperately needs one. The fit here for both sides might just be perfect.
All prospect rankings from MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 & Top 30 by team prospect rankings. All additional statistics provided by FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.