Dodgers and Blake Snell in agreement on a massive 5-year deal
The MLB offseason is officially underway.
The Dodgers and free agent left-hander Blake Snell are in agreement on a five-year, $182 million deal, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. He will also get a $52 million signing bonus, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. Prior to the announcement on X, Snell posted a picture of himself wearing a Dodgers white uniform on his Instagram page.
Snell’s deal with the Dodgers reportedly includes deferred money and will be worth an average annual value of $36.4 million. It’s the first nine-figure free agent deal handed out this winter.Snell had been connected to the Red Sox, reportedly meeting with the team last week.
It’s unclear whether Boston met with Snell in person or on Zoom. MassLive’s Sean McAdam reported all three potential aces on the market in Snell; fellow southpaw Max Fried and Corbin Burnes were in play for the Red Sox.
The two-time Cy Young winner (AL in 2018 and NL in 2023) will turn 32 at the beginning of December and is coming off playing one season for the Giants in 2024. Sell posted a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts (104 innings) for San Francisco and then opted out of his contract to test free agency again this winter. He took home a whopping $32 million in his only season pitching for the Giants.
The Seattle native joins his third National League West club and will join a stellar Dodgers rotation and depth that will include Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Bobby Miller, Dustin May, and Tony Gonsolin. Los Angeles currently has starters Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, and Clayton Kershaw on the free agent market.
For Boston, they’re all-in on their pursuit of free agent outfielder Juan Soto. Teams have made their offers for the first round of bidding for the slugger, and he could make his decision as early as the MLB Winter Meetings. The Red Sox are still linked to Fried and Burnes while also potentially trading for Garrett Crochet to deepen their rotation ahead of next season.
