One of the best pitchers available in free agency this winter came off the board on Tuesday night, a pitcher the Yankees were interested in.
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell agreed to a five-year, $182 million contract with the defending champion Dodgers.
The left-hander broke the news on his own, posting a picture of himself in a Dodgers uniform on his Instagram account. Minutes later, reporters began to confirm the blockbuster, sharing the unique details of his contract.
Not only does Snell’s contract feature an average annual value of $36.4 million — slightly more than Gerrit Cole’s $36 million with the Yankees — but Snell will receive both deferred money and a $52 million signing bonus according to multiple reports. Like the deferrals in Shohei Ohtani’s historic deal with Los Angeles last winter, this gives the Dodgers flexibility to continue to spend and improve their current roster.
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Snell joins Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow in a loaded Los Angeles starting staff. The Dodgers could add another Japanese stud — Roki Sasaki — to that rotation later this winter as well.
None of the other 29 teams in MLB will be happy about this signing. The Dodgers won the World Series last month and they continue to get better, flexing their financial muscles.
Snell going to the Dodgers does impact the Yankees directly, though. Earlier in the day on Tuesday, before Snell made his decision, the Yankees were on a Zoom call with the left-hander, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com also reported late Tuesday night that the Yankees — along with the Red Sox and Orioles — were in on Snell. The expectation is that those contenders will “remain active” in the market for top-tier pitchers. Aces Corbin Burnes, Max Fried and Jack Flaherty are also available in free agency this winter.
Part of the reason why the Yankees didn’t get Snell is the Juan Soto sweepstakes. As Heyman put it, their “near-total focus” is on Soto, so their backup plans need to wait.
Snell, who won his second Cy Young Award in 2023 with the Padres, posted a 3.12 ERA this past season over 20 starts with the Giants.
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