Dodgers sign Blake Snell for 5 years, $182 million

Today at 02:11 AM

In a Thanksgiving stunner, the Dodgers sign arguably the best pitcher available on the market in the 2024 offseason's first nine-figure signing

The Dodgers are now defending champions, and work on the title defense has already begun after some well-deserved rest and relaxation.

While offseason work has already started here at True Blue LA, my mind flashed back to the last time the Dodgers were in this position in the offseason after the COVID Cup of 2020.

My mind kept going back to a quote I read from Andy McCullough's biography of Clayton Kershaw: The Last of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness.

In discussing the thought process that Kershaw went through in the years after winning the 2020 World Series that led him back to the Dodgers after considering joining his hometown Texas Rangers and retirement, the mindset of the Dodgers' front office to start the 2021 season was discussed and could be best described in three words.

"Let's be pigs."

On page 325 of McCullough's book, the above quotation is attributed to Andrew Friedman as the organization's thought process was to not sit on their laurels content with just a single title.

Snellzilla comes south

Leaving aside what the Dodgers did in 2021, the question whether the Dodgers were going to go big again this current offseason. That question got answered in a serious way late Tuesday night.

On the evening of November 26th, Blake Snell posted a photo of himself in a Dodger jersey. Shortly after, the other shoe dropped.

Pending a physical, the defending champions bolstered their rotation with arguably the best starter available on the market in Snell for five years, $182 million.

Represented by Scott Boras, Snell infamously started 2024 late after signing late with the San Francisco Giants in hopes of getting a massive free agent deal that just did not materialize. Snell signed a 2 year, $64 million deal with an opt out clause with San Francisco.

After a rocky start, as the season progressed, the question of if Snell would opt of his deal with the Giants turned into a question of when would Snell opt out of his deal with the Giants.

During his last 14 starts of the year, Snell was nigh-unhittable. He had a 1.23 earned run average while holding opponents to a .123/.211/.171 batting line. His FIP during this stretch was a spectacular 1.77.

Assuming Snell passes his physical, Snell figures to slot in the burgeoning Hydra that is now the Dodgers' rotation with Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow. Not to mention Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Landon Knack, and likely-to-return Clayton Kershaw.

Snell's deal contains about $60 million of deferred money and a clause that would have the Dodgers pay Snell an additional $5 million if he were traded.

As it stands, the new contract would cover Snell's age-32 to 36 seasons. Snell's contract has a $52 million signing bonus and no opt out clauses.

When this signing becomes official, the Dodgers will have 37 players on the 40-man roster, including 23 pitchers and 14 position players.