3 biggest threats to the Angels in Blake Snell race after Yoshinobu Yamamoto decision

3 of 4

The Los Angeles Angels are one of many teams in desperate need of starting pitching help. The team had a subpar with Shohei Ohtani this past season and now has to figure out how to be competitive without the reigning AL MVP.

After Ohtani, the best pitcher available was Yoshinobu Yamamoto who just signed a monster deal to join Ohtani with the Dodgers. With other starters like Aaron Nola, Sonny Gray, and Eduardo Rodriguez off the board, it's slim pickings for Perry Minasian and the Angels if they want to find a frontline starter in free agency. All that's left is really Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery.

Snell appears to be the Angels' top target, but with Yamamoto off the board, there's a good chance they won't be alone in that thinking. The Angels will face stiff competition when it comes to signing Blake Snell. There's a good chance these three teams will be very interested with Yamamoto off the board.

3) Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs weren't in the thick of the Yoshinobu Yamamoto race, but they've been linked to just about every star in the free agency and trade market, so it would not be surprising to see them emerge as a potential Snell suitor.

The Cubs finished with an 83-79 record this past season, just barely missing out on a playoff spot. After stealing Craig Counsell away from their division rivals, the Cubs will be looking to take a step forward in 2024. With not many high-end free agents left, Snell is one of their last chances to take that step and become a postseason team.

The Cubs have emerging ace Justin Steele leading their rotation, but the rest of the staff is full of question marks. Veterans Jameson Taillon and Kyle Hendricks are solid mid-rotation arms but Taillon is coming off a down year and Hendricks is only getting older. Jordan Wicks impressed in his first MLB stint, but he made just seven starts.

Chicago could really use another frontline starter to pair with Steele especially with Marcus Stroman likely departing in free agency. Snell makes a lot of sense in that regard. Whether the Cubs will prove to be as desperate as teams like the Angels and other Snell competitors financially remains to be seen, but they certainly make a lot of sense as a potential suitor.

2) Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox were serious with their pursuit of Yamamoto and didn't appear to be completely out until the right-hander made his final decision to go to the Dodgers. Boston's interest in Yamamoto makes a ton of sense as their rotation is a mess. If they have any hopes of competing in 2024 they're going to have to make a meaningful upgrade with their starting pitching, and Snell is one of the last players available for them.

As of now, the only locks in Boston's rotation appear to be Chris Sale and Brayan Bello. Sale was once one of the best pitchers in the American League, but he's battled through many injury issues in recent years and didn't appear to be the same guy when healthy this past season. Bello had some good moments in 2023, but is far from a frontline starter. Guys like Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, and Nick Pivetta are decent back-end starters, but nothing more.

The Red Sox need an ace, and signing one who is familiar with the AL East and coming off a Cy Young win could be intriguing. Snell spent each of his first five years in the AL East with the Rays and won the first of his two Cy Young Awards in 2018 with Tampa Bay. Snell has a 3.10 ERA in his five career starts at Fenway Park, showing that he can be successful in that environment.

The Red Sox have money to spend, a glaring need, and not many people to consider other than Snell. It just makes too much sense.

1) San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants finally got someone to take some of their money as they signed Koren outfielder Jung Hoo Lee to a six-year deal worth over $100 million. While that's a nice add for San Francisco, the Giants have failed to land a big fish in years despite being in on most of the ones who were available.

This offseason alone they were seen as big players for both Shohei Ohtani and Yamamoto at certain points, but fell short in both races losing out to their division rivals. For the Giants to be competitive in 2024 they're going to have to do more than sign just Lee, and adding to their rotation would be a good place to start.

The Giants had just two pitchers this past season top the 120 inning mark. For reference, the Angels had five different pitchers top 120 innings pitched, and that's with them having a bad rotation. The Giants saw the fewest innings in baseball from their starters, finishing with fewer innings than lowly teams like the Athletics and Rockies.

Some of that was by design as the Giants used several openers, but there's a good chance new manager Bob Melvin won't have interest in using openers so often. Adding Snell gives them another established frontline starter to pair with Logan Webb and Alex Cobb, and another good arm to face the powerful Dodgers. Snell did put up a 2.74 ERA in his four starts against the Dodgers this past season.

The Giants are reportedly very interested in Snell, and with their desperation to sign a big-name player and compete in what's become a really tough NL West, they appear to be the biggest threat out there to the Angels in the Snell race.

manual

Home / LA Angels News