los angeles — Black snail A white donation Los Angeles Dodgers jersey with the red No. 7 on the back for the first time on Tuesday, representing the latest high-priced free agent to sign with the now-championship franchise.
Snell’s five-year, $182 million contract — With $52 million up front And another $66 million is deferred through 2046 — the fourth nine-figure signing the Dodgers have completed in the past 12 months, following Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto And Tyler Glassnow.
All three players mentioned above will be in the Dodgers’ rotation in 2025, but they all carry varying levels of injury concerns. Snell himself has faced durability questions throughout his career, most of them an inability to go deep into games, but he also brings another front-line starter to a staff full of power. , may prove to be the best in the game. And even though he will celebrate his 32nd birthday on Wednesday, the Dodgers believe he can get even better.
“I’ve known him since he was 18,” said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, a longtime Tampa Bay Rays exec who had a hand in drafting Snell 52nd overall out of high school in 2011.
“To watch his journey, to watch his incredible success, it’s been very special. And with a guy who’s had that much success, usually in major league free agency you get the back of a guy’s career. Buying shares, the success that they’ve had and with Black, one of the things that’s really exciting for us is that as much success as he’s had, we think there’s a lot more out there. Very much the opposite of what he has done up to this point is, and how it could affect us in our quest to win the World Series this year and for years to come.”
The first championship for the Dodgers of this era came against Snell’s Rays in the 2020 World Series. Snell started Game 6 and was famously removed after giving up his first hit with one out in the sixth inning, leading the Dodgers back to the championship.
Spent the next three years with Snell San Diego Padresthe Dodgers’ emerging rival, and ended that streak in 2023 by going 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA and winning his second Cy Young Award. He became a free agent in the upcoming offseason and expected to sign a massive contract, but the offers fell through. It wasn’t until mid-March that Sunil agreed to a much lower deal with him. San Francisco Giantswhich guaranteed him $62 million for two seasons and gave him the ability to opt out after 2024.
“The clubs weren’t interested,” said Scott Boras, Snell’s agent. “They haven’t called yet. The free agent market probably started in the middle of February. It was totally different. People like to register that it has something to do with me; I’m just a system guy. ”
A short spring training was followed by a torrid first three months in 2024, during which Snell’s ERA reached 9.51. Then suddenly Snell dominated again. From the beginning of July to the end of September, he threw a no-hitter, went at least six innings in 10 of 14 starts and posted a 1.23 ERA with 114 strikeouts and 30 walks in 80⅓ innings. Shortly after Snell opted out, the Dodgers, who came close to signing him before the Giants chose him last spring, made him their top priority.
“It was really easy, just because (teammate) Haley and I wanted to be here,” Snell said of his decision to join the Dodgers. “It’s something we’ve been talking about for a while. And when you look at the team, you see what he’s built, what they’re doing, it’s just something that You want to be a part. It’s tough to go against the top three hitters in the lineup, so to be on the other side and know they’re going to hit for me, it’s exciting.”
Referring to Sunil Ohtani, Mocky Betts And Freddie Freemancore pieces of the game’s most star-studded roster. Those three, along with Snell, Glasnow and Yamamoto, give the Dodgers six players with contracts worth more than $1.87 billion — and much of that money will be paid much later.
Betts, Freeman, Snell and Ohtani in particular all carry deferred money on their contracts. So does the utility man Tommy Adminwho was Signed a five-year, $74 million extension Last week and so does the catcher. Will SmithSigned a 10-year, $140 million extension in January.
The Dodgers will owe those seven players. Over $1 billion in deferred payments From 2028 to 2046.
“It’s just a lever,” Friedman said. “We’ve talked about it. We’ve done deals recently that aren’t, we’ve done deals that do. In a conversation I think it’s always challenging and so you Looking for a lever that you can possibly help reach a point where there is an overlap, there are times where the deal line is more direct. It’s ours is a useful tool but we have no hard and fast There is no rule.
Snell’s signing marked the second time in major league history that the reigning World Series champions acquired the reigning Cy Young Award winner in the coming offseason. New York YankeesAcquired by Roger Clemens in 1999.
Despite his age, Snell earned the third-largest contract ever for a left-handed pitcher — largely because his equipment and command remained elite enough that the Dodgers believed their decorated pitching infrastructure would further him. Can lead to heights.
Snell’s 2.03 ERA in seven career starts didn’t even come at Dodger Stadium.
“Being in L.A., the pressure is always on,” Sunil said. “I love it. Being here, it’s so amazing, the opportunities. But being able to pitch to a packed stadium, you know, you create moments for people, and that’s where you want to play. “I don’t think anyone out there could be in a better situation than you are here.”