Last winter, the Los Angeles Dodgers made waves by signing two stars to massive deals. The Dodgers gave Shohei Ohtani the largest contract in MLB history—$700 million over ten seasons. Less than three weeks later, they signed Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, agreeing to $325 million over 12 seasons. That deal is a record contract for a starting pitcher. The contracts cost a lot of money, but they worked out. Ohtani won the National League MVP Award, Yamamoto pitched well in the regular season and playoffs, and the Dodgers won the World Series.
This winter, they're planning their strategy to repeat. And that means adding more pitching to help shore up a talented but banged-up rotation and bullpen. Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Dodgers and Blake Snell agreed to a five-year deal worth $182 million.
It's the third-largest deal ever for a left-handed pitcher and the first nine-figure deal of the offseason. And for Snell, it's a testament to betting on himself.
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Let's quickly jump back to 2023. Snell had a 14-9 record but put up impressive individual numbers, including 234 strikeouts in 180 innings pitched, with an NL-leading 6.0 wins above replacement (WAR). He was playing with the San Diego Padres but rejected a $20.25 million qualifying offer, becoming a free agent. The following day, Snell won the NL Cy Young Award, becoming only the seventh pitcher in MLB history to win the award in both leagues.
You would think a player with that pedigree would be in high demand, but Snell went more than four months without getting signed. He finally agreed to a two-year, $62 million deal with the San Francisco Giants, a contract that included an opt-out clause after the first season.
Thanks to injuries and paternity leave, Snell missed quite a bit of action during the first half of the season. His first start was on April 8, yet he didn't get his first win until August 2. That first win was a no-hitter; the start before, Snell struck out 15 batters in six innings. Whether he knew it or not, he was auditioning for other teams during the second half of the season.
The Dodgers won the World Series on October 30. Two days later, Snell opted out of his contract with the Giants. Luckily for him, he didn't have to wait nearly as long this time around—signing with the Dodgers before Thanksgiving.
Snell bet on himself by rejecting that qualifying offer in 2023, and he did it again with the shorter Giants contract. Counting last year, he'll earn $213 million over six seasons, and this Dodgers deal will pay him $36.4 million—quite the pay bump from the $20.25 million he turned down.
While with the Tampa Bay Rays, Snell's team lost to the Dodgers during the 2020 World Series. Now, he's joining one of the most fearsome rotations in baseball when healthy. He could very well add a World Series ring to join his growing bank account.
