BLAKE SNELL SIGNS 5 YEAR DEAL WITH DODGERS
Los Angeles, CA - Two-time Cy Young award winner, Blake Snell, will be on the bump for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The starting pitcher has agreed to a 5 year $182 million dollar contract. 62 million of that contract will be deferred, and don’t forget his $52 million dollar signing bonus.
After declining his second year option with NL West rival, San Francisco, Snell became one of MLB’s hottest commodities on the market. The left handed starter ended 2024 with a 3.12 ERA through 104 innings in 20 starts. A dominant year that was not considered for any awards due to his early season departure due to injury.
Snell struggled to find some long term deal after securing his second Cy Young at the age of 30. That offseason left a bad taste in his mouth, as Snell did not participate in Spring Training and was expected to be the top-notch starter in the first week of the regular season. This would not play well for the southpaw and result in an early groin injury that cut significant time from the 2024 year.
Snell would still finish strong through a total of 104 innings and averaging 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings, the best of his career.
What does this mean for the Dodgers?
Los Angeles already has a clogging issue in their potential rotation. You will return with the 2024 MVP in Shohei Ohtani. Yes he pitches too. Glasnow and Yamamoto are going to return healthy for Spring Training, and Snell will tie it up as their fourth starter.
Now the fifth starter role can be filled by a handful of guys. Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May return fully healthy after going through Tommy John surgery. Bobby Miller and Landon Knack are young players who have proved they can throw with the rest of them, and don’t forget future Hall of Famer, Clayton Kershaw assuming he takes a pay cut with the Dodgers.
It is a good issue to have, and those are rare to come by. You also have some of the best pitching prospects in MLB in Gavin Stone and River Ryan going through their TJ recoveries. It is an exciting time to be a Dodger fan, and we still have months to go with the free agent market open.
Blake Snell will fortify the rotation, but does not have the pressure to carry a team through a whole season. The pressure is off as there is a whole line of prospects
