Ranking the 5 best starting pitchers the Red Sox should target at the trade deadline

1) Red Sox trade deadline target: Padres pitcher Blake Snell

Blake Snell is yet another former AL East member. He spent five seasons with the Rays, winning a Cy Young award and pitching in a ton of meaningful playoff games. He was shockingly traded to San Diego right after the Rays won the Pennant, and while things haven't gone super smoothly in his entire tenure there, he's been unbelievable in 2023.

If the season ended today, there's a good chance Snell is the NL Cy Young Award winner. He's posted a 2.67 ERA in 20 starts and 108 innings of work. He leads the league in walks, but also leads the league in ERA. A very rare combination. He's done this by limiting opponents to a .203 batting average and posting a sparkling 31.6% K-rate.

Snell's ERA sat at 5.04 through his first ten starts of the season, but in his last ten he has a 0.62 ERA. Yes, you read that right. He's allowed just four runs in 56 innings during this dominant stretch with 89 strikeouts. In his first ten starts, Snell had three outings in which he allowed four runs or more. He's gone ten starts allowing four runs total. Just absurd.

The Padres find themselves without nothing more than a puncher's chance at a postseason spot so it's very possible they sell high on Blake Snell while they still can.

The southpaw is a free agent at the end of the year so even with how well he's pitched Boston wouldn't have to give up someone like Marcelo Mayer to get him, and he's showing that he can still anchor a rotation. He has a 3.10 ERA in five starts at Fenway in his career, and has a 3.33 ERA in 12 postseason appearances (10 starts). The fit is perfect, and with how he's pitching now, the sky feels like it's the limit.