The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Blake Snell to a five-year, $182 million contract in November, making him their most expensive acquisition of the offseason.
Snell was one of the top-tier starting pitchers available in free agency after posting a 3.12 ERA and 2.43 FIP with 145 strikeouts in 104 innings for the San Francisco Giants. He has a career 3.19 ERA across 1,096.2 innings and is a two-time Cy Young Award winner.
Despite winning the National League Cy Young in 2023, Snell could not find a team willing to meet his contract demands heading into the 2024 season. He ultimately bet on himself, signing a two-year, $62 million contract with the Giants, which included an opt-out after the 2024 season.
Snell struggled through injuries and inconsistency in the first half of the 2024. He carried a 9.51 ERA in 23.2 innings across his first six starts and had two separate stints on the injured list because of a strained left adductor and later a left groin strain.
“I think the first half, I learned a lot,” Snell said. “I was trying to push through some things to see where I was, how I could get better. Failed, and from that point moving forward, it really helped me understand I need to take a little more time, I need to feel a certain way.
“Usually once I get in a rhythm, I can take that through the rest of the season. Just learning through those first two hiccups and then as I started end of June or early July, I was really confident from my rehab starts. I was like, ‘OK, I’ll be able to take this all the way and start dominating.’”
Once healthy, Snell was dominant in the second half of 2024, posting a 5-0 record with a 1.23 ERA, 114 strikeouts, and 80.1 innings across 14 starts.
Blake Snell’s takeaways from Dodgers Spring Training debut
Snell labored through his first and only appearance of Spring Training thus far, but still managed to have a scoreless outing for the Dodgers in his debut. He required 30 pitches to get through four batters in his only inning, before going to the bullpen for some extra work.
Snell came away from his start pleased with his ability to fill the zone with his fastball, but recognized that his off-speed offerings were still a work in progress.
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