Blockbuster Alert: Former Padres Star Joins Dodgers
Former San Diego Padres superstar Blake Snell is joining the National League West rival Los Angeles Dodgers on a five-year deal worth $182 million, per multiple reports.
Snell, who won a Cy Young award with the Padres in 2023, will now join his third NL West team in three seasons.
Snell spent three seasons with the Padres from 2021-23 after they acquired him from the Tampa Bay Rays. He was one of the best pitchers in baseball during his time in San Diego, and was arguably the best in the league in 2023 when he won the Cy Young award with a 2.25 ERA.
Snell spent the 2024 season with the San Francisco Giants, where he had a rough start to the season but ended up finishing with a 3.12 ERA after a dominant second half.
Now, Snell is making his third stop in the NL West, this time with the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers beat the Padres in the National League Division Series in 2024 en route to the World Series, where they beat the New York Yankees in five games. They were able to do it with only three healthy starting pitchers in the playoffs, and are now adding one of the best in the game to shore up a rotation that’s also expected to get Shohei Ohtani in 2025.
The Padres already knew they had a tall task ahead of them to compete with the reigning champs in 2025 and beyond. Now, they’ll need to be even more aggressive to match their NL West counterparts.
