Just days after signing a $182 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Blake Snell is saying hello to the fans on social media.
“What up, Dodger fans? It's Blake Snell here. Really excited to be a Dodger. Can't wait to win more championships with you guys and see you all at Dodger Stadium!”
The soon-to-be 32-year-old lefty is a two-time Cy Young Award winner. Last year with the San Francisco Giants, he pitched 104 innings across 20 games with a 3.12 ERA and 1.048 WHIP. Because of a short injury stint and time spent on paternity leave, Snell only had three starts from April 20 to July 8.
On November 1, Snell opted out of his contract with the Giants to become a free agent.
Dodgers just getting started with Blake Snell
Between Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani and Tony Gonsolin, it's anyone's guess how Los Angeles will order their starting rotation. Snell or Yamamoto are the likely aces with Glasnow's spot, depending upon his return from an elbow inflammation injury. But the starting rotation is just one piece of the puzzle for the Dodgers.
Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Los Angeles is still in heavy pursuit of Juan Soto.
“Dodgers don’t appear to be out on Juan Soto even now. Hard to see them as a favorite however. Even this juggernaut of a team with a great business model and huge revenue has to have limits, no?”
The Dodgers are also hoping to re-sign outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
“They are probably letting him look around and saying, ‘if someone blows us out of the water, fine.' Usually the Dodgers set a mark,” Nightengale said. “‘Okay, if you're willing to sign for this we will do it, otherwise we will turn our attention somewhere else.' I think Teoscar Hernandez comes back.
“He loved playing for the Dodgers. You saw it during the postseason, during the parade, everybody raved about what a great teammate he was.”
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Los Angeles also agreed to a $74 million contract with Tommy Edman, the 2024 postseason hero who came up clutch with hit after hit for the Dodgers. The deal includes a $17 million signing bonus and deferred money, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.
The San Diego Padres are sneakily working their magic to acquire Roki Sasaki away from Los Angeles, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
“The team that is quietly confident they have a realistic shot is the San Diego Padres with veteran starter Yu Darvish being a mentor and close friend of Sasaki’s,” Nightengale wrote. “Does Sasaki go to San Diego where he could become their ace and perhaps lead the Padres to their first World Series title in franchise history, or head to the riches of Los Angeles where he might be only the third most popular Japanese player on the team behind Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto?”
Despite everything going their way lately, the Dodgers aren't invincible.
