The Los Angeles Dodgers have come to terms on a 5 year, $182M contract with free agent left-hander Blake Snell, inking the largest deal of the offseason to date, and solidifying an already formidable pitching staff for the defending World Series champions.
The deal is currently pending a physical, but according to reports, includes no opt-outs, and a $52 million signing bonus. All in all, the contract represents the 3rd largest deal for a LHP in Major League history. Only David Price and Clayton Kershaw have signed larger contracts as southpaws.
The former Cy Young award winner opted out of the final year of his contract with the San Francisco Giants, and now heads to their NL West rivals in news that can’t make Giants fans too happy to see. After winning the 2nd Cy Young of his career in 2023 as a member of the Padres organization, Snell posted a 5-3 record in 2024, with a 3.12 ERA and 145 Ks across 104 IP.
Los Angeles now features Snell, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Bobby Miller and Kershaw (once he re-signs as is widely expected) as starting pitcher options. It also adds a layer of security should the club fail to acquire Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki, who is expected to be posted this winter and will command universal MLB interest from every club.
Right-handers Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler are currently free agents, which paved the way for Snell’s addition. The deal however will further push the Dodgers into the depths of the luxury tax, though ownership has shown little concern about writing large competitive balance cheques in the past.
Snell’s $36.4M AAV would rank as the fifth-highest in 2025 behind Ohtani ($70M), Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler($42M), New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge ($40M) and Texas Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom ($37M).
Photo: Jeffrey Hyde. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.