Red Sox Linked To Blake Snell, Lucas Giolito, Jordan Montgomery, Lance Lynn
The Boston Red Sox have finally entered the buying conversation as the Major League Baseball Trade Deadline nears, and national reporters are starting to take notice.
With that in mind, MLB.com's Mark Feinsand wrote about some elite trade chips, and linked four starting pitchers to Boston -- three of which would be enticing.
Feinsand labeled the Red Sox as "potential fits" for Chicago White Sox's Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn, St. Louis Cardinals Jordan Montgomery and San Diego Padres Blake Snell.
Of the foursome, Snell is the only one who might not be traded at all this deadline. That said, cooler heads typically prevail and the Padres would be wise to admit that they are way out of the playoff race.
Here's a quick breakdown of each player and whether the reports make sense:
Lucas Giolito
The 29-year-old has a 3.45 ERA with a 117-to-34 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .223 batting average against and 1.14 WHIP in 112 1/3 innings across 19 starts.
Like every other player on this list, Giolito is an impending free agent (Lynn has an $18 million club option that nobody on earth would accept). While it might sound a little premature for Boston to invest in pure rentals this summer, it would give the Red Sox an edge in his upcoming free-agent sweepstakes. The right-hander would be a fantastic fit for this year and beyond.
Jordan Montgomery
The southpaw has a 3.28 ERA with a 91-to-26 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .251 batting average against, 1.24 WHIP in 98 2/3 innings across 17 starts.
The pitch for Montgomery is very similar to Giolito and the best approach would be to call about both and trade for the player who would cost less.
Blake Snell
Snell has a 2.85 ERA with a 132-to-49 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .200 batting average against and 1.22 WHIP in 98 innings across 18 starts.
The case for Snell is odd. He arguably has the highest pedigree on the list with a Cy Young to his name and is only 30 years old. However, he currently leads the National League in both walks and hits per nine. Yet, he's been the best player on this list in 2023.
Snell would be a massive upgrade over the like of Tanner Houck or Garrett Whitlock when everyone's healthy but Boston might be better off going for the two aforementioned starters -- who will likely be easier to acquire and appear a bit safer.
Lance Lynn
The 36-year-old has a 6.03 ERA with a 127-to-37 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .265 batting average against and 1.42 WHIP in 103 innings across 18 starts.
The veteran leads the league in earned runs allowed (69) and home runs allowed (22). If the Red Sox acquire Lynn, it screams "We can say we bought but we didn't invest anything of value in the team."
This would be the ultimate slap in the face to Red Sox fans and would make no sense unless it was paired with someone like Giolito or Montgomery and Lynn was purely used as extra depth after experiencing our current rotation which includes two openers a week.
In summary, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom should call about everyone but hone in on Giolito and Snell. If Lynn is in Boston at any point this season, he better be accompanied by a legitimate frontline starter. If not, they'd be better off selling.
The optimism that Bloom will actually go out and get a legit arm is increasing by the day.
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