Could Philadelphia Phillies Reignite Interest in Two-Time Cy Young Winner?

The Philadelphia Phillies might turn to the two-time Cy Young winner as their rotation upgrade this offseason.

Aug 24, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; San Francisco Giants starter Blake Snell (7) delivers a pitch against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park / Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sport

Starting pitching continues to be something discussed as a major target for the Philadelphia Phillies this winter.

That comes on the heels of Dave Dombrowski stating he isn't committing to Taijuan Walker being their fifth starter in 2025, hinting at an open competition during the offseason and in Spring Training.

The veteran could get the nod, especially if the Phillies don't make the addition they're rumored to be looking for this winter, but reports are suggesting they at least want to be prepared in case Walker performs poorly again.

How Philadelphia might go about accomplishing this goal isn't quite known.

They are slated to meet with superstar outfielder Juan Soto at some point, and based on the contract he's expected to receive, that largely would limit the other areas they could upgrade.

Trades are being thrown out there as well, especially since the attitude and immaturity of Alec Bohm has caused the Phillies to start shopping him around with teams starting to inquire about what it would take to land him.

All that is speculative, which means Philadelphia could actually be looking in a different direction when it comes to how they are going to upgrade their starting rotation.

Perhaps that's with Blake Snell.

In his latest story for The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal discussed the developing market of the two-time Cy Young winner, sharing he's already been busy meeting with teams around the league with the hope that he signs much earlier this time compared to last year.

The MLB insider went through the list of teams who have interest in the star, sighting the usual suspects of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, while also mentioning some potential surprise suitors of the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays before closing with the possibility he reunites with one of his former teams, the San Diego Padres or San Francisco Giants.

Nothing out of the ordinary there.

However, he did finish with an interesting piece of information.

"And it goes without saying: Other teams likely are in the mix," he wrote.

Could the Phillies be that "other" team?

Philadelphia had some surface level interest in Snell last winter before they balked at the continued asking price that he and his agent, Scott Boras, were looking for in his megadeal.

Just one year removed from that, it seems unlikely the Phillies would now be interested in handing out something of that magnitude when even more roster holes are prevalent now compared to last offseason based on what took place to end their year.

If they are going to shell out this type of money, Soto should be player who receives it.

Still, it's hard to rule out Philadelphia for anyone on the open market, especially because they are seemingly itching to improve their starting rotation.