With the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season winding down, it’s time to look ahead to 2025.

The Boston Red Sox still have a chance to finish above .500 with two games left to go. Boston currently is 80-80 with two more games against the Tampa Bay Rays before calling it a season. Boston already has more wins than in each of the last two seasons, so that is a step in the right direction.

The only issue is that the Red Sox are 13 games behind the first-place New York Yankees and nine games behind the second-place Baltimore Orioles. If the Red Sox want to contend in 2025, they need to get on the same level of teams like New York and Baltimore.

Both invested in adding stars ahead of the 2024 season. The Yankees added Juan Soto, and the Orioles added Corbin Burnes. Both rosters had solid pieces but needed someone to help take them over the top, and Soto and Burnes did their job.

Now, Boston needs to find someone to help do that job for it. There will be plenty of players out there in free agency, and FanSided’s Zach Pressnell even suggested two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell as someone who could help.

“The Boston Red Sox are going to be very aggressive in the starting pitching market in free agency,” Pressnell said. “This free agency class has quite a bit of talent available in terms of starting pitchers, too. Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, and Max Fried are just a few of the top arms that Boston could pursue this offseason while many of the other big markets are chasing after superstar Juan Soto.”

Snell is a guy who should be in consideration for the Red Sox. They need a lefty, and he is one of the best in baseball. Snell is a dominant pitcher who would provide not only All-Star talent but a true staff ace. He will be expensive and is projected to receive a $172 million deal, but Boston should be all over him. The biggest question is whether the front office will be willing to open the checkbook, but they should for Snell.