On Tuesday evening, sources informed ESPN that the Los Angeles Dodgers and free-agent left-hander Blake Snell had reached an agreement on a five-year, $182 million contract.
According to insiders, the deal, which is awaiting a physical, contains a $52 million signing bonus, some deferred money, and no opt-outs.
After the Dodgers survived October by relying largely on their bullpen with only three healthy starters, Snell provides the World Series champions with a frontline starter for their title defense the following season. Snell’s second tenure as a free agent comes to a lot speedier and more rewarding end with the deal.
Based on total value, the $182 million deal is the third-largest contract ever for a left-handed pitcher in major league history, only surpassed by Clayton Kershaw’s 2014 deal with the Dodgers ($215M) and David Price’s 2015 deal with the Boston Red Sox ($217M).
Additionally, it’s another huge free agency signing for the Dodgers. Since the 2023–24 off season began, they have now awarded five contracts totaling at least $100 million, which is equal to the total amount awarded by all of MLB.
On November 1, Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, chose to become a free agent for the second consecutive offseason by opting out of the last season of his two-year, $62 million contract with the San Francisco Giants.
He joins a rotation that appears to be stocked for 2025 and the Giants’ bitter foe in Southern California. In addition to Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Bobby Miller, and Kershaw—should he re-sign with the team, as anticipated—the Dodgers currently have Snell, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow as alternatives to complete the group. The Dodgers are also among the leading contenders to sign Japanese star right-hander Roki Sasaki, who is expected to be posted this winter.
Five years after winning the American League award with the Tampa Bay Rays, Snell won the National League’s Cy Young Award in 2023 with the San Diego Padres, but his market never took off the way he had hoped. His proposals fell short of the six-year, $162 million contract recently secured by another power lefty, Carlos Rodon, because to concerns about his erratic strike-throwing.
Instead, he signed with the Giants in late March, missed the majority of spring training, and had a terrible start to the 2024 campaign. Snell had a 9.51 ERA after six starts and was on the verge of being placed on the injured list for the second time due to a strained groin. Snell’s decision to opt out was obvious since, upon his return, he pitched like one of the best in the game, finishing 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA and 145 strikeouts (and just 44 walks) in 104 innings across 20 starts.
With 114 strikeouts and 30 walks in 80â…“ innings, the 31-year-old left-hander recorded a 1.23 ERA in 14 starts from early July to late September. He pitched a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds on August 2. He pitched at least six innings and gave up no more than two runs in eight other cases.
A strained left adductor kept him out of action from April 19 to May 22, and a strained left groin kept him out of action from June 2 to July 9.
In 2018, Snell led the majors with 21 victories and dominated the AL with a 1.89 ERA while playing for the Rays. Over the next four years, he was reliable and consistently missed bats at a high level, but during that time, his ERA rose to 3.85.
In nine MLB seasons, he had a 3.19 ERA and a 76-58 record overall.
Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers is the only big league pitcher who has pitched at least 250 innings and had a lower ERA than Snell during the last two seasons.
Next season, Snell’s average salary of $36.4 million would be the fifth-highest among active contracts, behind Ohtani ($70 million), Zack Wheeler ($42 million) of the Philadelphia Phillies, Aaron Judge ($40 million) of the New York Yankees, and Jacob deGrom ($37 million) of the Texas Rangers.
According to ESPN BET, the Dodgers are currently +400 favorites to win the 2025 World Series. Since the Yankees won three consecutive World Series from 1998 to 2000, there hasn’t been a repeat winner. In MLB history, this is the longest streak without a repeat champion.
