The Los Angeles Dodgers announced the signing of Blake Snell to a five-year, $182 million contract. It reunites the left-hander with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who drafted Snell when leading the Tampa Bay Rays front office.
Snell’s agreement with the Dodgers was first reported on Tuesday. He seemingly broke the news on Instagram by posting a photoshopped picture of himself in a Dodgers uniform.
That was followed shortly after with reports of the contract terms. Snell’s Dodgers contract includes a $52 million signing bonus, deferred salary and a limited no-trade clause.
Thus, average annual value of Snell’s contract is $36.4 million, but the number that will impact the Dodgers’ competitive balance tax for payroll is projected to be $32 to $33 million.
Snell’s signing gives the Dodgers one of multiple pitchers they reportedly are looking to bolster their rotation with. L.A. additionally was said to have significant interest in the top starters available this offseason.
That now is down to Corbin Burnes and Max Fried, both of whom have been targeted by the same teams. The New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles were interested in Snell before he agreed to sign with the Dodgers
Meanwhile, Snell reportedly had a desire to quickly sign in free agency in order to avoid a repeat of what transpired when he hit the open market after the 2023 season.
Despite coming off a second career Cy Young Award, Snell wasn’t the subject of any bidding war or significant interest. That amounted to not signing with the San Francisco Giants until after Spring Training began.
The Dodgers reportedly made a late run at signing Snell before he agreed to a two-year contract with the Giants, and were among the teams interested at the trade deadline this past season as well.
Blake Snell fortifies Dodgers rotation
Even if Tyler Glasnow is not healthy come Opening Day of the 2025 season, the Dodgers rotation will be led by two aces in Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Snell went 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA, 2.43 FIP and 1.05 WHIP across 20 starts for the Giants this year while posting a 24.2% strikeout to walk ratio.
He suffered a left adductor strain in late April and left groin strain in June, but put together a tremendous second half of the season.
Snell went 5-0 with a 1.45 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in 12 starts after the All-Star break. His ERA during the second half led all qualified starting pitchers.
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