Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell said Tuesday it was a “really easy” decision to sign with the Dodgers.
“Me and Haeley wanted to live here. We’ve been talking about it for a while,” Snell said Tuesday at his introductory news conference at Dodger Stadium, referring to his partner, Haeley Mar. “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.”
Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, said in organizational meetings to discuss how the team “could put ourselves in the best position to win a World Series in 2025, all conversations kept coming back to Blake.”
“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 and a lot of upside that beyond what he’s done to this point, and the impact that can have on us and our quest to win a World Series this year and as many years as we can see out,” said Friedman, who was the Tampa Bay Rays’ general manager in 2011 who selected the then 18-year-old with the 52nd choice in the Major League Baseball draft.
Snell and the Dodgers agreed to terms on a five-year, $182 million contract Saturday, the third-largest for a left-handed pitcher in MLB history based on total value. The only ones larger were David Price’s $217 million deal with the Boston Red Sox in 2015 and Clayton Kershaw’s $215 million contract with the Dodgers in 2014, according to ESPN.
ESPN had reported last Tuesday that Snell and the Dodgers had agreed on a contract, pending a physical, which includes opt-outs, some deferred money and a $52 million signing bonus.
Snell, who will turn 32 on Wednesday, last Tuesday posted a photoshopped picture on his Instagram account of himself wearing a Dodger uniform with the caption reading “LA” with an eyeballs emoji.
Snell won the National League Cy Young Award in 2023, when he was 14-9 with a league-best 2.23 ERA while pitching for the San Diego Padres. He was a free agent following the season, with the Dodgers seeking to sign him late in the process, according to the Los Angeles Times.
However, he signed late in spring training with the San Francisco Giants, receiving a two-year, $62 million deal that included an opt-out this winter that Snell exercised.
Snell got off to a slow start with a 9.51 ERA and 0-3 record at the end of June after spending separate stints on the injured list due to a left adductor strain and a left groin strain. However, he was 5-0 with an 1.23 ERA over his final 14 starts including his first career no-hitter.
Snell was the American League Cy Young Award winner in 2018, when he pitched for Tampa Bay, leading the league with a 1.89 ERA and 21 victories.
The Dodgers’ agreement with Snell follows their acquisitions of pitching stars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow entering the 2024 season. Ohtani did not pitch in 2024 after undergoing elbow surgery in 2023 and Yamamoto and Glasnow both spent time on the injured list.
The lack of healthy starting pitching prompted the Dodgers to have four bullpen games during the postseason, winning two, en route to their World Series championship.
“Living here is pretty amazing, but being able to pitch in a packed stadium, to make moments for people … this is where you want to play,” Snell said. “I don’t think there’s a better situation that you could be in.”