Boston Red Sox reportedly talking to former SF Giants lefty ace according to MLB insider

Former SF Giants lefty ace Blake Snell did not sign until the end of March last offseason. He is hoping to avoid that same fate this time around as he is reportedly talking with the Boston Red Sox according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.

Boston Red Sox reportedly talking to former SF Giants lefty ace according to MLB insider

Passan told the Baseball Bar-B-Cast that the Red Sox look poised to land a starter this winter. Snell is on that list as well as former Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried. The MLB insider surmises that Boston has put together an impressive farm system headlined by Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell, and Kyle Teel.

Those four prospects are among the game's best with Anthony, Mayer, and Campbell all ranking among the top-10 according to MLB Pipeline. For a team that finished in third place in a competitive AL East with 81 wins, they look like their fortunes could turn around quickly.

With that being said, they could still use some help on the pitching side. The farm system may not produce much help in the near future and the major league rotation is led by Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck. Both are solid pitchers, but they could use some help.

This is where either Blake Snell or Max Fried come into play. Snell is coming off of a solid 2024 campaign in what could be his only season with San Francisco. His year did get off to a slow start as he battled injuries and ineffectiveness.

However, he was arguably one of the best pitchers in baseball in the second half of the year. Overall, he tallied a 3.12 ERA, 2.43 FIP, 1.04 WHIP, 12.5 K/9, and a 3.30 SO/W rate in 104 innings with the Giants. The lefty ace's market will undoubtedly be aided by the lack of a qualifying offer.

The Giants are unable to use that lever as the San Diego Padres issued Snell a qualifying offer that he rejected last offseason. That lever can only be used once and only once during a player's career.

On the other hand, Fried has a qualifying offer on the table that he will almost certainly reject in favor of free agency. The veteran pitcher is coming off of a year in which he registered a 3.25 ERA in 29 starts while earning his second NL All-Star nod. Across eight seasons, the 30-year-old pitcher has pitched to a 3.07 ERA with the Braves.

The Red Sox look like a good bet to land at least one of the top names on the market this offseason. Both Snell and Fried check that box.