3 remaining free agents the Phillies should sign and 2 they should avoid

Blake Snell, SP

The other bonafide starter the Phillies are interested in going after, as mentioned by Heyman, is none other than reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell.

After winning his first Cy Young Award back in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays, Snell had struggled to replicate his numbers from that season up until last year with the San Diego Padres. For the 2023 season, Snell rediscovered his Cy Young magic by going 14-9 with a 1.19 WHIP and a strikeout rate close to 12 batters per nine innings.

More impressively, Snell led the NL in ERA (2.25), ERA+ (182) and hits allowed per nine innings (5.8). He also limited hard contact by only allowing 15 home runs all season in 180 innings of work. However, he did have one eyesore. He walked a league-leading 99 batters, but fortunately, it was offset well enough by his low hits allowed rate and high strikeout rate. He has also had past success in the postseason with a 4-3 winning record with a 3.33 ERA and 1.25 WHIP, with 61 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings pitched in 12 career playoff games.

Adding a high-end talent like Snell to the already dominant Phillies starting pitching staff would create a three-headed monster of Snell, Nola, and Wheeler at the front end of the rotation that could compete against any team in the league. And yes, even including the recently revamped Los Angeles Dodgers group of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow. The Phillies haven’t had such a luxury since the Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, and Cliff Lee era. Snell would make the Phillies a force to be reckoned with when playoff season rolls around in the coming years.