Blake Snell recently revealed that he had agreed to a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers by posting a picture of himself in a Dodger uniform on Instagram. ESPN later confirmed the deal, reporting that it is a five-year, $182 million contract. This move significantly strengthens the Dodgers’ pitching rotation, which struggled during the playoffs, even resorting to a bullpen game in Game 4 of the World Series. Snell’s addition helps address the pitching depth of the team, which had to rely on patchwork solutions during the postseason.
Looking ahead to the 2025 season, the Dodgers’ rotation could feature several high-profile players alongside Snell, including Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, and possibly Rōki Sasaki and Dustin May. This robust lineup would help secure the Dodgers’ place as contenders, although the signing of Snell likely rules out the return of Walker Buehler, who had been a World Series hero for the team. Despite his contributions, Buehler might not be able to find a spot on the roster with the current depth.
Snell’s 2023-24 free agency did not unfold as he or his agent, Scott Boras, had initially anticipated. Early expectations were that Snell could command a contract worth around $270 million, surpassing Stephen Strasburg’s 2019 deal. However, those hopes were adjusted, and Snell ended up signing a two-year, $62 million deal with the San Francisco Giants, with an opt-out after the first year. Snell took home $32 million for the first year before opting out, leaving $30 million on the table.
The Dodgers’ contract with Snell is reportedly worth around $170 million in present-day value due to a large signing bonus and deferred payments. The financial structure, with a $52 million signing bonus and $65 million deferred, reduces the hit to the Dodgers’ salary cap to roughly $32.4 million per year. Snell’s average annual value (AAV) of $36.4 million exceeds that of Gerrit Cole’s deal, making it a lucrative contract for the left-hander despite the deferred payments. His deal is also far less than Max Scherzer’s $43.33 million AAV, but Scherzer’s contract was only for three years.
By combining Snell’s Dodgers contract with his previous Giants deal, he has secured a total of six years and $214 million, an impressive sum that brings his average salary close to $36 million per year. Snell’s deal is notably lucrative given his age of 32, as Cole signed his record deal at 29. The contract also includes limited no-trade protection and a trade bonus/penalty. While some players, like Juan Soto, may avoid deferred payments, Snell was comfortable with the structure. With this move, the Dodgers continue to prove their excellence in both player acquisition and financial management, reinforcing their status as a top-tier organization.
