The Dodgers missed out on signing reigning Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, as he agreed to a two-year deal with the San Francisco Giants, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The deal is for $62 million with an opt out after the first year.
Breaking: Snell to the Giants. $62M, 2 years. Opt out.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 19, 2024
Snell was coming off an impressive season with the San Diego Padres, posting an ERA of 2.25 over 32 starts. He went 14-9 for the year while striking out a career-high 234 batters over 180 innings of work.
The left-hander won 28 of the 30 first-place votes in the Cy Young voting for last season, showing just how dominant he truly was. It was his second Cy Young win of his career, with his first coming back in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays.
He was one of the main reasons why the Padres were able to stay alive in the postseason race for so long, and now he cashes in. While it took a while for Snell to reach an agreement with a team, it was well worth the wait for him.
This was the first time in his career that he had been a free agent, so he wanted to find the best possible deal he could. Despite taking a lesser amount and shorter team deal, Snell still showed the ability to be patient in waiting for a deal he deemed worthy of his skill set.
He could also opt out after the 2024 season if he so chosses.
The Dodgers didn’t need Snell, but he would have been a nice luxury to add to their rotation. Unfortunately, he’s remaining in the NL West, which means the Dodgers will see their fair share of him over the 2024 season, and maybe 2025, too.