"Yankees sleeping"; "Padres fans are going to cry so hard" - Fans react to Dodgers signing Blake Snell for reported $182,000,000 deal
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell has reached an agreement with the reigning world champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Per reports, Snell will receive a five-year, $182 million contract that would keep him in Los Angeles until 2030.
The move came as a surprise to fans as it was announced at midnight (Eastern time) and neither Blake Snell's camp nor the Dodgers made any hints about the signing beforehand.
"Left-hander Blake Snell and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in agreement on a five-year, $182 million contract, pending physical, sources tell me and @jorgecastillo. The World Series champions get the two-time Cy Young winner in the first nine-figure deal of the winter," ESPN's Jeff Passan said in a post on X/Twitter.
Pending a physical, Snell is now scheduled to play for the last remaining Californian team in the majors after spending time with the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. He's also set to reunite with former Tampa Bay Rays teammate Tyler Glasnow.
Fans were visibly caught off-guard by the move as very little was known about the lefty's choices for free agency:
"The rich get richer," another fan said.
"The MLB is cooked," one fan added.
"This isn’t right for the sport," a fan said.
"Create a salary minimum and cap already," another fan wrote.
The pitcher will join Brett Tomko as the only other pitcher to have started at least 20 games for the Dodgers, Giants and Padres.
Blake Snell's roller-coaster MLB career
Newly-acquired Los Angeles Dodger Blake Snell's career can only be perfectly described as a roller coaster. The two-time Cy Young winner is now bound to play for the reigning champions after failing to win the biggest prize in the game during his time with the Padres and Giants.
Snell made his debut in 2016 for the Tampa Bay Rays wherein he spent his first two seasons as a mediocre starter. In 2018, he finally broke out and won the AL Cy Young after an MLB-leading 21 wins to go with a 1.89 ERA.
He followed up his star-caliber season by dropping back to Earth with a 6-8 record and a 4.29 ERA in 2019. In 2021, he would move to the West Coast to play for the Padres and would go on to win an NL Cy Young Award two years later.
After a stellar 2023, Blake Snell went on his usual pattern of plummeting during the first half of 2024 — this time as a part of the Giants. Heading into the All-Star break, the lefty owned an abysmal 0-3 record with a 5.10 ERA. A better second half to the season saw Snell salvage his 2024 line to 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA.
What do you think of the LA Dodgers signing Blake Snell? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.