Blake Snell

 

Blake Snell reportedly agrees to 5-year, $182 million deal with Dodgers in second MLB free agency go-around

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.

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.

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 the rotation as a clear need, since Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler — two of their three real starting pitchers during their playoff run — entered 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 collection of pitching talent, but that “when healthy” qualifier is an enormous one for the Dodgers. Their last two playoff teams have seen them enter the postseason with a rotation held together by duct tape. Every single player listed above missed significant time with injuries last season, and the Dodgers are responding by looking for even more talent.

The frightening part is that the Dodgers probably aren't done. Corbin Burnes and Max Fried might be a little steep now, but a reunion with Buehler or Flaherty doesn’t seem out of the question. And, of course, there’s the looming possibility of Roki Sasaki joining them on an outrageously small deal.

Blake Snell didn't want a repeat of what happened last time

Rewind to the start of the 2023-24 MLB offseason. Snell was named the winner of the 2023 NL Cy Young Award, making him one of 22 pitchers in the history of baseball to win the award multiple times. He also entered free agency for the first time in his career, with no shortage of suitors.

Snell expected a big contract, to the point that he reportedly

turned down a six-year, $150 million offer from the New York Yankees. His agent, Scott Boras, is notorious for waiting out teams to get the best possible deal, but no such deal came.