A year after making a major splash in free agency, the Los Angeles Dodgers are back at it, signing two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to a five-year, $182 million deal. The agreement, which includes a $52 million signing bonus and $62 million deferred, comes less than a month after the Dodgers won the World Series with a decimated rotation.
Snell, who broke the news himself on Instagram, was acquired by the Dodgers after the left-hander opted out of his second season with the San Francisco Giants. Despite coming off a second Cy Young season, Snell’s market didn’t materialize as expected last offseason, and he signed with the Giants in March.
However, Snell rebounded from a slow start to produce a 1.23 ERA with 114 strikeouts in 80.1 innings down the stretch, showcasing his elite strikeout upside. The 31-year-old has averaged 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings over his career, the most for a starter in MLB history, and has struck out more than 28% of batters faced in each of the past six seasons.
The Dodgers, who had been interested in Snell for years, saw an opportunity to add a key piece to their pitching staff after a season in which they had to navigate injuries to several key starters. The team had only one pitcher remaining from their Opening Day rotation, and the additions of Snell and potential free agents Corbin Burnes and Max Fried make their rotation significantly deeper.
The Dodgers’ ability to take calculated risks, as they did with the signing of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow last offseason, allows them to add players like Snell to their roster. The team is also still in the mix for Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki and could bring back All-Star Teoscar Hernández, making them the favorite to repeat as World Series champions.