Blake Snell’s first foray into MLB free agency was a protracted disaster. He’s probably happier with how the second go-around worked out.
The two-time Cy Young winner agreed to a five-year, $182 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
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
Snell didn’t have a qualifying offer this year after rejecting one last season, so his signing will not cost his new team a draft pick. The deal comes after an up-and-down season with the San Francisco Giants, but one that definitely ended with momentum on Snell’s side.
At the start of July, he held a 9.51 ERA through six starts and had missed significant time due to two trips to the injured list. And then, as he tends to do, Snell got better in the second half. After returning from the IL on July 9, he posted a 1.23 ERA across his final 14 starts with 114 strikeouts in 80 1/3 innings. Batters hit .123/.211/.171 against him.
Thanks to that run, Snell entered this offseason as one of the top free-agent arms and ranked No. 6 on Yahoo Sports’ list of this winter’s free agents. Snell wasted little time in finding a new home, and it’s hard to blame him, given how last offseason went. Now, he’ll get to join the reigning World Series champions.
Blake Snell didn’t want a repeat of what happened last time
Rewind to the start of the 2023-24 MLB offseason. Snell was named the winner of the 2023 NL Cy Young Award, making him one of 22 pitchers in the history of baseball to win the award multiple times. He also entered free agency for the first time in his career, with no shortage of suitors.
Snell expected a big contract, to the point that he reportedly turned down a six-year, $150 million offer from the New York Yankees. His agent, Scott Boras, is notorious for waiting out teams to get the best possible deal, but no such deal came.
By the time spring training rolled around, Snell didn’t have a team, nor did fellow Boras clients Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman or Jordan Montgomery. It was an embarrassing situation for the agent and his players, and it resulted in them all taking short-term deals in late February and early March. In Snell’s case, he landed with the Giants on a two-year, $62 million contract with an opt-out after the first year, which he exercised.
For all of his talent, Snell had enough red flags that teams were apprehensive about promising him $200 million. He was an older free agent at 30 years old, for one, and his consistency and durability issues are well-known. He has thrown more than 130 innings in a season only twice, and he led MLB in walks in 2023.
This most recent season didn’t do much to change the narratives around Snell, as he was awful and injured, then Cy Young-worthy. But good things sometimes come to those who don’t wait.
