As if the Los Angeles Dodgers needed to add any more star power this offseason, the front office went out and made the biggest move on the free agent market to date.
As reported by numerous sources Tuesday evening, the Dodgers have agreed to a 5-year, 182 million-dollar deal with elite left-handed pitcher Blake Snell. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reported that Snell will receive a $52 million signing bonus. There are no player/team options or opt-outs involved in the deal. Perhaps most interestingly, Snell will defer some money akin to what Shohei Ohtani did last offseason.
“Snellzilla” — as he’s affectionately referred to by many around the sport — was arguably the top pitcher on the market. At the very worst, he sat atop the pecking order with Corbin Burnes.
Snell, 31, pitched last season for the rival San Francisco Giants in what was a bit of an odd year. He signed very late and had a couple of minor injuries that could be described as further getting ready for the rigors of the season. Though he started the year slowly, Snell finished supremely well. His last 80 innings pitched were completed with a microscopic 1.23 ERA.
Snell has two Cy Young Awards to his name. The stuff speaks for itself, as the lefty boasts an electric fastball and an assortment of elite breaking pitches. Among starters in the game today, Snell is up there with practically anyone.
The Dodgers had a clear plan in place as soon as the season ended. The front office wanted to upgrade the starting rotation, and boy, did they. Snell immediately jumps into a projected group featuring Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Tony Gonsolin. Dustin May and Bobby Miller will be in the mix, Clayton Kershaw is expected to re-sign, and there’s still a probability LA could bring in BOTH Walker Buehler and Roki Sasaki.
As scary as it sounds for the rest of Major League Baseball, the Dodgers already look like they’ll be even better this upcoming year.
