Blake Snell stepped up to the mic at DodgerFest, that familiar grin cutting through the offseason buzz. Fans leaned in, hoping for fire-up talk about another ring chase. Instead, the lefty opened up about the nagging shoulder that’s shadowed his Dodger debut—a reminder that even Cy Young arms aren’t bulletproof.
Last winter, the Dodgers didn’t waste time bolstering their rotation after a World Series grind that exposed their pitching depth. They inked Snell to a five-year, $182 million pact, a far cry from the two-year, $62 million bridge deal he signed with the Giants post his 2023 NL Cy Young win. That Giants contract included an opt-out after 2024 and a signing bonus paid out this year. Snell arrived in LA buzzing with energy, raving about the organization’s winning culture during his intro presser.
At DodgerFest, he peeled back the layers: “The same thing. Just never felt great, never the normal that I’ve felt my whole career.”
Therapy has been his offseason lifeline. No knife needed—PT’s built strength. “I mean, it’s stronger,” Snell said. “I know the day I went into PT to the day I left, it’s night and day in strength and how it feels.”
The real shift? A smarter ramp-up. Snell’s ditching last year’s rush. “I’m just going to take my time. Last year, I was rushing. I wanted to pitch so bad,” he recalled.
“I feel good. I’m just going to go slower. Last year, I had so much to prove, I got way too excited and I was really pushing to get to spring, get through spring. This year, I’m going to be a little slower in how I ramp up. Be a little more smarter on that, but I feel good.”
Despite the hurdles, Snell’s all smiles about 2025. Ups and downs forged bonds.
“It was perfect. We won the World Series. Me personally, I went through a bunch of ups and downs, but I wouldn’t change it,” he said. “For us to win, come together, find a way to win, it only made us a stronger team, a more connected team. It just gets me more excited for what we have to do this year.”
With Snell easing in, the front office might eye more depth. MLB.com notes LA’s starters logged a league-high 162 innings in the playoffs last year, a bullpen-saving feat.
