Blake Snell has agreed to a $182 million, five-year contract with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday night because the deal is subject to a successful physical.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner broke the news personally by posting a photo of himself on social media in a Dodgers uniform — No. 7.
ESPN first reported the details of his contract.
Snell would join two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani in a star-studded rotation, giving the Dodgers the first mega deal of this offseason following Ohtani’s $700 million, 10-year contract last winter.
Ohtani didn’t pitch this year while recovering from elbow surgery. He won his third MVP award, first in the National League, following a huge season at the plate exclusively as a designated hitter.
Down to three healthy starting pitchers in the postseason, Los Angeles overcame a string of injuries to its projected rotation in winning its second World Series title in five years.
Right-handers Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler then became free agents this fall, creating more holes for the Dodgers’ staff. But the addition of Snell would fill a big one at the top with a legitimate ace.
Snell’s $36.4 million average salary would rank as the fifth-highest among active deals next year behind Ohtani ($70 million), Philadelphia pitcher Zack Wheeler ($42 million), New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge ($40 million) and Texas pitcher Jacob deGrom ($37 million). Among expired contracts, it also was exceeded by pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander (both $43.33 million) under deals they agreed to with the New York Mets.
Earlier this month, Snell opted out of his contract with San Francisco to become a free agent for the second consecutive offseason after injuries hindered his lone year with the Giants.
The left-hander agreed in March to a $62 million, two-year contract that included a $17 million signing bonus payable on Jan. 15, 2026, a $15 million salary for 2024 and a $30 million salary for 2025, of which $15 million would have been deferred and payable on July 1, 2027.
Snell, who turns 32 next week, was 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts this year, throwing a no-hitter at Cincinnati on Aug. 2 for one of only 16 individual shutouts in the major leagues this season. He struck out 145 and walked 44 in 104 innings.
He was sidelined between April 19 and May 22 by a strained left adductor and between June 2 and July 9 by a strained left groin.
Snell won Cy Young Awards in 2018 with Tampa Bay and 2023 with San Diego. He is 76-58 with a 3.19 ERA in nine seasons with the Rays (2016-20), Padres (2021-23) and Giants.
Because he turned down a qualifying offer from San Diego last November, the Giants were not eligible to give Snell another one and won’t receive draft-pick compensation.
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AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley contributed to this report.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
