Blake Snell was the Los Angeles Dodgers’ first splash of the offseason and their most expensive by signing a five-year, $182 million contract. With another frontline starter to solidify the rotation, adding Snell addressed what the Dodgers saw as their biggest need heading into 2025.
Snell made his second start of Cactus League play on Sunday against the Oakland Athletics, giving up four runs on five hits in 3.2 innings of work. He required 30 pitches to get through one scoreless inning in his first outing of the spring on Feb. 25.
Despite the rough outing on Sunday, Snell is focusing more on the process to prepare for the regular season than results from the start.
For veterans who don’t have to worry about making the Opening Day roster like Snell, Spring Training and Cactus League games are a time for experimentation and calibration more than anything, according to Doug Padilla of the Southern California News Group:
“Everyone wants to come into spring and they’ll expect, ‘Oh, Cy Young Blake,’ but that’s not realistic,” Snell said. “I’m learning, I’m growing, I’m getting better. It takes all of spring to really start figuring it out that I need to do this or need to do this a little different than I did last year. You’re figuring out who you are this year. It’s such a big thing.
“I was pretty happy with it. Fastball command could get better.”
For Snell, making adjustments year to year based on how opponents approach him is an important aspect of the endless game between pitcher and hitter. In that sense, he would much rather try new things in an environment that has no bearing on the Dodgers’ record.
However, Snell acknowledging his fastball command needed improvement is supported by just 13 of 35 were thrown for strikes and often were uncompetitive in their location.
One positive from Snell’s start on Sunday was his five strikeouts, an improvement over his first outing where he struggled to put batters away. Snell’s slider and curveball generated a lot of swing and miss, with the former being especially effective.
Snell made just two Cactus League starts and three overall in Arizona this spring. He’s expected to have a final tuneup in an exhibition game at the Tokyo Dome.
Blake Snell expected to start Dodgers home opener
When the Dodgers resume their regular season schedule after returning from Japan, there is a strong likelihood that Snell takes the mound for their domestic regular season opener against the Detroit Tigers at Dodger Stadium.
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