Former Rays ace Blake Snell shocks MLB with massive Dodgers contract in free agency

Former Rays ace starting pitcher, Blake Snell has signed a five-year, $182 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The left-handed hurler had an up-and-down 2024 season with the San Francisco Giants, but he was certainly one of the best pitchers in the sport down the stretch. In fact, during the months of August and September, Snell went 5-0 and led the National League with an incredible 1.44 ERA.

The Seattle-born pitcher also holds an all-time record among starting pitchers with 11.9 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched. All of these stats are impressive, but some fans forget the beginning of this former 1st round pick's journey.

Snell was originally drafted by Tampa Bay with their 52nd overall pick in the 2011 MLB draft. He advanced steadily through the farm system, as he was promoted each season since he was drafted. The hard-throwing lefty racked up a multitude of strikeouts, highlighted by his 10.9 SO/9 in his last full season in the minors.

In 2016, Snell started the season with the Durham Bulls, but he only threw 63 innings before getting the June call-up. He pitched pretty well in his rookie year as he recorded the best ERA among Rays starting pitchers.

The star pitcher accelerated his potential throughout the next four years, as he was awarded a Cy Young Award in 2018 and got to pitch in the 2020 World Series against his new team, the Dodgers. Rays fans thought they had a franchise player in Blake Snell because of the great success that he was experiencing, but Kevin Cash may have interfered with these plans.

Cash decided to pull his ace lefty in the 5th inning of Game 6 of the World Series. Snell had only given up one run on two hits, while striking out nine Dodgers.

However, the Rays tendency to rely heavily on data drove the Tampa Bay manager to take Snell out of the game early. This idea immediately backfired as reliever, Nick Anderson gave up the go-ahead run, which ultimately led to an LA World Series championship.

The plan was unsuccessful in more ways than one though, as it most likely convinced Snell to request a trade to another organization. Since he left the Rays, his success has continued as he won his second Cy Young and led the MLB with a 2.25 ERA with the Padres in 2023.

Things seem to have gone full-circle as the left-hander will be suiting up for the 4th different team in his career, the LA Dodgers. Their pitching staff, highlighted by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, and former Ray, Tyler Glasnow will now be an absolute force to be reckoned with.