Blake Snell’s first foray into MLB free agency was a protracted disaster. He’s probably happier with how the second go-around worked out.
The two-time Cy Young winner agreed to a five-year, $182 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Left-hander Blake Snell and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in agreement on a five-year, $182 million contract, pending physical, sources tell me and @jorgecastillo. The World Series champions get the two-time Cy Young winner in the first nine-figure deal of the winter.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 27, 2024
Snell didn’t have a qualifying offer this year after rejecting one last season, so his signing will not cost his new team a draft pick. The deal comes after an up-and-down season with the San Francisco Giants, but one that definitely ended with momentum on Snell’s side.
At the start of July, he held a 9.51 ERA through six starts and had missed significant time due to two trips to the injured list. And then, as he tends to do, Snell got better in the second half. After returning from the IL on July 9, he posted a 1.23 ERA across his final 14 starts with 114 strikeouts in 80 1/3 innings. Batters hit .123/.211/.171 against him.
Thanks to that run, Snell entered this offseason as one of the top free-agent arms and ranked No. 6 on Yahoo Sports’ list of this winter’s free agents. Snell wasted little time in finding a new home, and it’s hard to blame him, given how last offseason went. Now, he’ll get to join the reigning World Series champions.
Blake Snell joins a potential super-rotation with the Dodgers
Snell not only found a deal 112 days earlier than he did last offseason, he joined what could be an incredible rotation in Los Angeles.
Despite their success last year, the Dodgers entered the offseason with rotation as a clear need with Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler — two of their three real starting pitchers during their playoff run — entering free agency. Snell is a bigger name than either.
The Dodgers’ rotation for 2025, when healthy, now projects as something like Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw, assuming the latter follows through on his stated intent to re-sign with the team. Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Emmet Sheehan are also expected to return after missing all of 2024 with injuries.
It’s a formidable…