Los Angeles Dodgers officially welcome two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell on five-year deal
The Los Angeles Dodgers officially announced their latest free agent signing on Tuesday, welcoming two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to the team with a Dodger Stadium press conference. It comes after the two agreed to a five-year, $182-million contract.
The 32-year-old is to join Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow at the top of Los Angeles' pitching rotation after a brief stint with the San Francisco Giants.
It's the largest contract of is career, which began in 2016 with the Tampa Bay Rays.
When asked on Tuesday why he picked the Boys in Blue, Snell said his decision was easy, and partially based on a mutual interest to live in the City of Angels that he shares with his girlfriend.
"Then you look at the team. You look at what they've built, what they're doing. It's just something you want to be a part of," Snell said.
He says that having a lineup flush with star players like Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman was additional motivation.
"You want to be around players like that when you're trying to be one of the best in the game. Yeah, it played a big part," he said. "Look at the first three hitters in the lineup, that's tough to go against. So, to be on the other side and know that they're gonna be hitting for me, yeah pretty exciting."
For the Dodgers, who are looking to repeat after their thrilling World Series win over the New York Yankees in October, signing Snell was also an easy decision.
"All conversations kept coming back to Blake," said Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman. "With Blake, one thing that's really exciting for us is, as much success as he's had, we feel like there's more in there."
He's known Snell since the lefty was just 18.
"Once me and Andrew started talking with Scott [Boras], I got really excited," Snell told KCAL News. "I've known Andrew since I was a pro, he drafted me."
Friedman was the general manager of the Rays at the time, selecting Snell with the team's first round pick in the 2011 MLB Draft out of his high school in Seattle.
"I wanna start. I wanna be a Dodger, you know. He's the one, the reason I started playing pro ball and hopefully we can take it until I'm done playing," Snell said.
The left-hander signed with the Giants a few months into the 2024 season after failing to secure a massive deal in free agency months after winning his second Cy Young Award.
He opted out of two-year deal he signed with San Francisco, officially becoming a free agent for the second year in a row.Because he previously turned down a qualifying offer from the San Diego Padres last November, the Giants were not eligible to give Snell another one this offseason.
Just a few days ago, Snell posted on his Instagram account, "really excited to be a Dodger, can't wait to win more championships with you guys, see you all at Dodger Stadium."
Snell went 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts for San Francisco this year, throwing a no-hitter at Cincinnati on Aug. 2 for one of only 16 individual shutouts in the major leagues this season. The left-hander struck out 145 and walked 44 in 104 innings.
In nearly 1,100 career innings, Snell has a 3.19 ERA with 1,368 strikeouts. He touts a 76-58 record and has been named to one All-Star Game. He was part of the 2020 Tampa Bay team that ultimately lost the World Series to the Dodgers.
