Red Sox Legend Pedro Martinez Gives His Take On Whether Boston Should Pursue Blake Snell

Boston could use a legitimate ace to bolster the rotation

Scott Neville | Oct 7, 2023

Red Sox Legend Pedro Martinez Gives His Take On Whether Boston Should Pursue Blake Snell /

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Boston Red Sox

When the Boston Red Sox hire a new leader of their baseball operations in the coming weeks, he will have one task that reigns over the rest of his agenda -- add pitching.

The upcoming free-agent class is loaded with frontline starters, including National League Cy-Young favorite Blake Snell.

The San Diego Padres ace is having one of the strangest seasons in recent memory. 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.

The 30-year-old impending free-agent led Major League Baseball with a 182 ERA+ and 5.8 hits per nine innings. He also allowed the most walks in the league. He took a unique path to greatness, one that might not be sustainable.

Pedro Martinez was asked about the conundrum that was Snell's 2023 season and appeared to share similar concerns.

"Think about being consistent with such a contrast. When it comes to walking the ballpark, to not allowing anybody to hit you, it's very unique," Martinez told Inside The Red Sox.

"I think it's great, the fact that he's been able to put the season that he's put together while going through so much, but I would have a hard time understanding how he goes about it."

Still, Martinez was very complimentary of Snell and shared that he should be coveted by all MLB teams.

Martinez was asked if he would use his advisory role to aid Snell with his walk-rate issue should the Cy-Young favorite sign with Boston over the winter.

"That would be the first thing I would do. First of all, he seems like a real good guy. So, really quickly I would go approach him and see if we could fix the walking stuff and see if we can fix some of the things that I see on him to actually make things easier for him. But definitely someone that anybody would love to have."

While Martinez cannot fully relate to an elite pitcher who carries an incredibly inflated walk rate, he understands Snell's value, as well as the lack of notable arms in the Red Sox's rotation at the moment. Boston would be much improved with Snell in the picture.

Here is the full interview with Pedro Martinez:

The Pedro Martínez Foundation will host its 7th Annual Gala on Friday, November 10th, at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. The organization's projects aid children and families in Boston and in the Dominican Republic. Tickets are available here.

The Gala will be loaded with guests, including Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña, Texas Rangers pitcher Aroldis Chapman, Boston Red Sox legend Jason Varitek, Boston Red Sox pitcher Corey Kluber and more.

More MLB: Red Sox Legend Pedro Martinez Chimes In On Alex Cora Potentially Joining Front Office

Published Oct 7, 2023

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