The Los Angeles Dodgers began the process of addressing their starting rotation by getting out ahead of the market to sign Blake Snell to a five-year, $182 million contract.
Snell signing with the Dodgers came shortly before Frankie Montas received a somewhat surprising two-year, $34 million contract from the New York Mets. Those deals have since been followed by Luis Severino signing a three-year, $67 million contract with the Athletics.
Snell was considered one of the best starting pitchers available this offseason, but Montas and Severino both exceeded contract projections.
According to Mark Feisand of MLB.com, one National League executive noted how robust interest is for starting pitchers:
“The market for pitching is insane right now,” an NL executive said. “It’s through the roof.”
With Snell off the board, Corbin Burnes and Max Fried are the top starters still available, and they are drawing so much interest that contract values keep increasing:
“There are two tier-one guys, and more than two teams [are] looking for a guy like that,” the NL exec said. “The prices just keep going up.”
Additional starters to sign so far are Yusei Kikuchi (three years, $63 million) with the Los Angeles Angels and Matthew Boyd (two years, $29 million) joining the Chicago Cubs.
The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox were among the teams that had interest in Snell before he signed with the Dodgers. New York and Boston also have been connected to Burnes and Fried as well.
While the two starters — and others — figure to benefit from high demand for their services, the top of the market may be locked up until Juan Soto’s free agency decision. Particularly with the Red Sox and Yankees being among the finalists in the sweepstakes.
So too are the Mets, and they still face a need for pitching.
How Dodgers are impacted by free agency for starting pitchers
The Dodgers went into the offseason with a reported goal of wanting to acquire two starting pitchers. That could be achieved if Roki Sasaki chooses to sign with the Dodgers once he’s posted.
Other options are Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler, though both of their markets have seemingly been elevated by the spending on pitchers.
Clayton Kershaw is an effective lock to re-sign with the Dodgers, but his start to the 2025 season will be delayed because of left knee and foot/toe surgeries.
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