Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Some unexpected breaking news on Thanksgiving Eve-eve.
Left-hander Blake Snell and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in agreement on a five-year, $182 million contract, pending physical, sources tell me and @jorgecastillo. The World Series champions get the two-time Cy Young winner in the first nine-figure deal of the winter.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 27, 2024
There is $62 million deferred in Blake Snell’s $182 million contract. Snell does not have a no-trade clause but will be paid $5 million if traded, as @ByJackHarris reported
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 27, 2024
And, apparently, Blake Snell broke the news before any of the national reporters on his Instagram.
Quite the way to begin the offseason for the World Series champions. Snell figured to get one of the biggest contracts after following up his 2023 NL Cy Young season with an even better 2024 (in fewer innings, which counts). But instead of signing in mid-March, he’s signing in late-November and will have a full offseason to build up for his new team. It’s a 5-year commitment with no opt outs.
Snell, 32, in eight days, pitched to a 3.12 ERA, 2.43 FIP and a 24.2 K-BB%. He also allowed just an 86.5 MPH average exit velocity, which is something the Dodgers tend to favor in their pitchers. And aside from some walks, there’s a ton of red in his Statcast ledger.
But there might be an explanation for the higher walk rate, and not just the fact that he can be a little “wild” at times.
Love Blake Snell getting some love here for his command. The BB% makes it seems like he's wild, but he is making a conscious choice not to end up in the heart of the plate. It's how he throws the fewest "Mistake" pitches each year (3% again in 2024!) https://t.co/h3JLOll1dV https://t.co/TcANH5zHTW pic.twitter.com/gGBK0GIXnG
— Kyle Bland (@blandalytics) November 19, 2024
There’s some method to his madness.
The Dodgers figured to be in the market for a starting pitcher, and of the “Big 3,” — Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Snell — I liked Snell the best. Of course, you wouldn’t know that because I didn’t have him in my offseason plan (even if he was in an earlier draft) and I didn’t actually get around to writing a post about all three big starters. Regardless, Burnes is likely to get the biggest contract and longest commitment of the trio and Fried has had forearm injuries in back-to-back seasons, so in a weird way Snell might be the safest bet.
When healthy, the Dodgers’ rotation looks really, really strong.
I don’t think this signing would close the door whatsoever on the Dodgers bringing back Walker Buehler. In fact, it probably makes it a bit more likely because, well, we saw what the rotation looked like in the postseason (and they still won, lol). It does, however, probably end any chance of Jack Flaherty coming back. And Clayton Kershaw should be a solid midseason addition.
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This is the kind of splash the Dodgers need to be making with their financial advantage. They can afford to pay Snell $36.2 million per season because he was the highest-ceiling starting pitcher available. They should probably still be in on Juan Soto, but it always seemed like signing him would be a longshot anyway.
Lots to be thankful for, Dodger fans.
