Red Sox First Club Mentioned As Destination For Reigning Cy Young Winner

Boston is in desperate need of starting pitching

Scott Neville | Jan 25, 2024

Red Sox First Club Mentioned As Destination For Reigning Cy Young Winner /

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Boston Red Sox

Will the Boston Red Sox surprise their fanbase by signing the top free-agent pitcher on the market?

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow appears to be as, if not more hesitant to make a big move in free agency as his predecessor and ownership's lack of financial commitment has not helped matters.

With that said, the Red Sox are feeling the heat from the fans and at least one national media member still expects Boston to make a splash.

"I'm not going to be shocked if it's a surprise team late for (Blake) Snell," the New York Post's Jon Heyman said Wednesday on a Bleacher Report live stream. "The other teams I could see, I'm going to say Boston, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels -- those are teams that could be in the mix for Snell in the near term."

Snell went 14-9 with a league-leading 2.25 ERA, 234-to-99 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .181 batting average against and 1.19 WHIP in 180 innings across 32 starts for the San Diego Padres last season.

The 30-year-old led Major League Baseball with a 182 ERA+ and only 5.8 hits per nine innings, but his 99 walks were the most in the league, forcing him into trouble often. He took a unique path to greatness, one that might not be sustainable.

Snell also is not the most reliable starter in terms of availability, which was a huge issue for the Red Sox in 2023. He’s averaged 142 innings per 162-game season -- discounting his rookie year and the shortened 2020 season.

While all of that is true, the Red Sox desperately need to boost their rotation. Jordan Montgomery makes the most sense but nobody should be complaining if the reigning National League Cy Young winner is Boston's Opening Day starter.

Fans have no reason to believe that ownership would invest in an impactful free agent this winter but national media has yet to rule out Boston from making a splash.

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Published Jan 25, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu