LOS ANGELES — Free-agent left-hander Blake Snell and the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a five-year, $182 million contract, sources advised ESPN on Tuesday night time.
The deal, which is pending a bodily, consists of no opt-outs, some deferred cash and a $52 million signing bonus, sources mentioned.
For the Dodgers, Snell offers the World Sequence champions a frontline starter for his or her title protection subsequent season after they survived October by relying closely on their bullpen with simply three wholesome starters. For Snell, the pact marks a a lot faster and satisfying conclusion to his second stint as a free agent.
The $182 million contract is the third largest for a left-handed pitcher in main league historical past based mostly on complete worth, behind solely David Worth’s with the Boston Crimson Sox in 2015 ($217 million) and Clayton Kershaw’s with the Dodgers in 2014 ($215M).
And for the Dodgers, it is one other huge deal for a free agent. They’ve now handed out 5 contracts value a minimum of $100 million for the reason that begin of the 2023-24 offseason — the identical quantity as the remainder of MLB mixed.
Snell, a two-time Cy Younger Award winner, opted out of the ultimate season of his two-year, $62 million cope with the San Francisco Giants on Nov. 1 to turn out to be a free agent for the second straight offseason.
He joins the Giants’ archrival in Southern California and a rotation that’s, on paper, loaded for 2025. Because it stands, the Dodgers boast Snell, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow plus Dustin Could, Tony Gonsolin, Bobby Miller and Kershaw — ought to he re-sign with the membership, as anticipated — as choices to spherical out the group. The Dodgers are additionally among the many main contenders to signal Japanese star right-hander Roki Sasaki, who is predicted to be posted this winter.
Snell was the Nationwide League’s Cy Younger Award winner with the San Diego Padres in 2023 — 5 years after successful the American League honor with the Tampa Bay Rays — however his market by no means materialized to his liking. Considerations about inconsistent strike-throwing prompted his presents to fall in need of the six-year, $162 million contract beforehand obtained by one other energy lefty in Carlos Rodon.
He as a substitute joined the Giants in late March, lacking most of spring coaching and struggling mightily initially of the 2024 season. Six begins in, Snell held a 9.51 ERA and was headed to the injured listing for a second time with a groin pressure. When he returned, Snell carried out like one of many recreation’s finest pitchers to complete at 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA and 145 strikeouts (and simply 44 walks) in 104 innings over 20 begins, making his resolution to choose out a no brainer.
In 14 begins from early July to late September, the 31-year-old left-hander posted a 1.23 ERA with 114 strikeouts and 30 walks in 80 innings. On Aug. 2, he threw a no-hitter in opposition to the Cincinnati Reds. In eight different cases, he accomplished a minimum of six innings and allowed not more than two runs.
He was sidelined between April 19 and Could 22 by a strained left adductor and between June 2 and July 9 by a strained left groin.
Snell took the league by storm with the Rays in 2018, main the majors with 21 wins and pacing the AL with a 1.89 ERA. He was stable over the following 4 years, frequently lacking bats at an elite stage, however his ERA jumped to three.85 throughout that stretch.
Total, he’s 76-58 with a 3.19 ERA in 9 MLB seasons.
The one pitcher within the majors over the previous two seasons with a minimum of 250 innings and a decrease ERA than Snell is the Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal.
Snell’s $36.4 million common wage would rank because the fifth-highest amongst lively offers subsequent 12 months behind Ohtani ($70 million), Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler ($42 million), New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Decide ($40 million) and Texas Rangers right-handerJacob deGrom ($37 million).
The Dodgers are at present +400 favorites to win the 2025 World Sequence at ESPN BET. There has not been a repeat World Sequence champion for the reason that Yankees received three straight titles from 1998 to 2000. It is the longest drought with no repeat champion in MLB historical past.
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Analysis and The Related Press contributed to this report.
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