The Los Angeles Dodgers have seen a lot of Blake Snell over the years ever since he was traded to the San Diego Padres from the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021.
In 2023, Snell won the National League Cy Young Award after a stellar season in which he had a 2.25 ERA, 234 strikeouts, 180 innings, and a 6.2 WAR. It was his best season since he won the American League Cy Young Award with the Rays in 2018.
Despite the success he had last season, Snell was one of many Scott Boras clients who dealt with unprecedentedly lengthy contract negotiations with teams.
This opened up an opportunity for the Dodgers, who already were linked to the left-hander, to possibly swoop in and continue adding to their historic offseason.
The Dodgers had already made numerous splashes in free agency, but made a push to sign Blake Snell before he went to the San Francisco Giants, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post:
Word is the Dodgers made a late play for Blake Snell before he opted for the rival Giants.
At the time the Dodgers made their offer to Snell, they had already signed to high-priced free agent pitchers in Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They also signed the veteran James Paxton and were counting on contributions an assortment of their young players and pitchers rehabbing injuries.
It was a part of the Dodgers’ larger strategy to build up as much pitching depth as possible after what had happened in 2023.
Adding another long-term, expensive contract was possible, but not ideal, after their previous signings. However, Snell remained on the market for far longer than expected because other teams around the league were unwilling to meet his contract demands.
This allowed a possible short-term Snell contract fit better in the Dodgers’ short-term plans.
It is unknown what the Dodgers final offer to Snell was, but could have been good value if it was similar to the two-year, $62 million deal he signed with the San Francisco Giants.
It has been a struggle for Snell this season with an ERA over 10, but part of that could be attributed to him missing all of Spring Training.
How would Blake Snell fit in the Dodgers rotation?
Having a talent like Snell could never hurt, but fortunately for the Dodgers, their starters have done quite well for themselves this season. The Dodgers are one of the better teams in baseball when it comes to starter ERA this season.
Their starting pitching depth also remains strong even after losing Emmet Sheehan for the season. In fact, the Dodgers will have more available starters than spots in the rotation once Bobby Miller makes his return and will have to make a decision on that front soon.
