Champion Dodgers adding Snell, sources say

Left-hander Blake Snell and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in agreement on a five-year, $182 million contract, pending a physical, sources told ESPN on Tuesday night.

For the Dodgers, Snell gives the World Series champions a frontline starter for their title defense next season after surviving October by depending heavily on their bullpen with just three healthy starters. For Snell, the pact marks a much quicker and satisfying conclusion to his second stint as a free agent.

Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, opted out of the final season of his two-year, $62 million deal with the San Francisco Giants on Nov. 1 to become a free agent for the second straight offseason.

Snell was the National League’s Cy Young Award winner with the San Diego Padres in 2023 — five years after winning the American League honor with the Tampa Bay Rays — but his market never materialized to his liking. Concerns about inconsistent strike-throwing prompted his offers to fall short of the six-year, $162 million contract previously obtained by another power lefty in Carlos Rodon.

He instead joined the Giants in late March, missing most of spring training and struggling mightily at the start of the 2024 season. Six starts in, Snell held a 9.51 ERA and was headed to the injured list for a second time with a groin strain. When he returned, Snell performed like one of the game’s best pitchers to finish at 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA and 145 strikeouts (and just 44 walks) in 104 innings over 20 starts, making his decision to opt out a no-brainer.

In 14 starts from early July to late September, the 31-year-old left-hander posted a 1.23 ERA with 114 strikeouts and 30 walks in 80 1/3 innings. On Aug. 2, he threw a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds. In eight other instances, he completed at least six innings and allowed no more than two runs.

He was sidelined between April 19 and May 22 by a strained left adductor and between June 2 and July 9 by a strained left groin.

Snell took the league by storm with the Rays in 2018, leading the majors with 21 wins and pacing the AL with a 1.89 ERA. He was solid over the ensuing four years, continually missing bats at an elite level, but his ERA jumped to 3.85 during that stretch.

Overall, he is 76-58 with a 3.19 ERA in nine MLB seasons.

The only pitcher in the majors over the last two seasons with at least 250 innings and a lower ERA than Snell is the Detroit Tigers‘ Tarik Skubal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.