The Dodgers have already had one of the greatest offseason’s we’ve ever seen. The ownership group has done more than we could have asked for.
But I’m a very selfish fan.
Despite being the betting favorites to win the World Series, I think the Dodgers could still use one more addition.
Their starting rotation has one of the best 1-2 punches with Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Bobby Miller is one of the top young arms in the game. James Paxton was a sneaky signing that could be a Tyler Anderson 2.0. Walker Buehler will be back. There are young rookies waiting in the minors. It sounds like the Dodgers’ rotation is set, right?
I don’t think so.
I think the Dodgers could use one more starting pitcher. They aren’t going to acquire one via a trade (unless Friedman has something cooking right now). I’m not sure how reliable the rookies can be.
So, we turn to the free agent market. Sitting right there at the head of the table is the 2023 NL Cy Young winner.
Yes, I’m crazy. If you’re a frequent reader of my Substack, that shouldn’t come as a surprise to you.
I think the Dodgers should seriously consider signing Blake Snell.
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Allow me to explain.
I haven’t really been in on Snell at any point this offseason. A large reason for that was because of his expected asking price. Good ole Scott Boras thought he’d be getting his client $200+ million. Yeah, that ain’t happening.
There was a report a while back where Snell reportedly turned down $150 million from the Yankees. At those prices, I’m good.
Well, as rapper Fat Joe once said… “Yesterday’s price is NOT today’s price!”
There have been some recent reports that Snell might consider a short-term contract. Boras’ clients are familiar with those, as both Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman just signed short-term contracts with opt outs. If Snell is interested in going down that route, I think the Dodgers should be all over that.
There was also another report yesterday from Bob Nightengale saying Scott Boras said four new teams have checked in on Snell/Jordan Montgomery….. interesting!
I was out for a 5-6 year deal. But if you could land him on a 2-3 year deal with opt outs, why not?
Remember how earlier I mentioned the Dodgers could use one more starting pitcher? Here’s my reasoning.
Do you think the Dodgers should sign Blake Snell? Let me know!
Glasnow threw 120 innings last season, which was a career high for him. Yamamoto is used to pitching only once a week in Japan. Who knows when we’ll see Walker Buehler return and who knows how healthy he’ll be this season. James Paxton hasn’t had a healthy campaign since 2019. Not to mention, you have a lot of question marks with the rookies.
We’ve seen starting rotations completely fall apart. For example, take a look at the Dodgers’ rotation from last season. You can never have enough pitching. The Dodgers are an injury or two away from having a depleted rotation. Well, they could add to their depth with a pretty good starting pitcher in Snell.
Imagine a 1-2-3 punch in October of Yamamoto/Glasnow/Snell. That would be insane. The Dodgers would have the best starting rotation in baseball to go along with the best offense.
The front office has gone all in with this team. That’s evident with their payroll. At this point, if money isn’t an issue, what’s an additional $25-30 million for this season?
Even if you have Snell for a couple of years, you’re bolstering your rotation for 2025 when you likely turn to a 6-man rotation. You’ll have Yamamoto, Glasnow, Ohtani and likely Bobby Miller. Well, you still need two more arms. With Snell, you have your 5-man rotation set with a spot up for grabs.
There’s a chance the Dodgers have a zero percent interest in Snell and I just wasted all my time writing this article. If that’s the case, that’s totally fine. The Dodgers are still going to be the World Series favorites without him. If another team signs him I’ll be totally okay with that.
I just think they have a chance to make their team even better with this signing and I’d love to see them make it happen. They’re already the villains of Major League Baseball, you might as well embrace it and become the evil empire.
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If it was just $30M~$40M, I'd say jump. However, Allen Easley is correct, there is a draft pick attached to Snell. On top of that there is the Luxury Tax. $30M~$40M becomes $40m x 110% = $84M. That, plus a draft pick, and international pool is one huge price to pay.
Then what if Snell coming in so late ends up being another Giolito? Or misses a month to get Dodger ready?
That's a 'Stone" [Pun intended] to far for me. Too many for sures with what ifs riders for me.
Dodgers have enough for NLWest. Let's at least see how things hold up and how Kersh and others look perhaps until all the way to the end of July, and go from there.
Yes, it may cost more for a trade for any number of SP/RP. But even if it ends up costing more, with that much season gone from the Luxury Tax salary and no draft pick loss, it might actually turn out to be cheaper via a few proven tradable player.
Because the Padres gave Snell a qualifying offer which he declined I think the Dodgers would lose a draft pick if they sign him. Which would make a deal less attractive to the Dodgers if Snell could opt out in a year. I think the Dodgers would also lose money in their international bonus pool. I would pass on this if I had a vote-which I don’t.