The Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox are both casting wide nets in their search for starting pitching this offseason, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.
Rosenthal reported Thursday that Boston and Los Angeles have met with two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell. The teams are also "talking" with Corbin Burnes and Max Fried.
Snell encountered a much cooler market than he expected last offseason. He and agent Scott Boras were reportedly looking to get as much as $200 million, and he wound up getting a two-year pact worth up to $62 million from the San Francisco Giants.
After posting a 3.12 ERA and a 2.43 FIP in 104 innings with San Francisco, Snell should be in a better position to land a nine-figure payday. ESPN's Kiley McDaniel pegged his value at $124 million over four years.
Burnes and Fried also broke the $100 million threshold, with the former going all the way up to $225 million in McDaniel's view.
Consistency is one of the big selling points with Burnes. Over the past four seasons, he has boasted a 3.08 FIP while averaging 189 innings per campaign and 10.2 strikeouts to 2.4 walks per nine innings, according to Baseball Reference.
Fried has likewise been excellent. His 13.9 WAR since 2021 rank 10th among starting pitchers, per FanGraphs. The injury troubles that limited him to 14 starts in 2023 will be a consideration among his suitors, though.
The Dodgers and Red Sox both saw their rotations pushed to the limit in 2024. Neither Tyler Glasnow nor Clayton Kershaw pitched for L.A. in the postseason, while Boston is still waiting for Lucas Giolito to make his debut after signing last winter. Los Angeles also has Kershaw, Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler hitting the open market.
The two teams figure to make sizable pitching additions in the weeks ahead.
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