Dodgers 2025 Payroll: How Blake Snell’s Contract Impact the…
The rich are getting richer in the MLB.
The Dodgers are less than a month removed from defeating the Yankees in the 2024 World Series, hoisting the franchise’s eighth World Series title by knocking off New York in five games.
Well the celebrations are over in Los Angeles, and the focus is on the 2025 season. The Dodgers’ front office took the first step towards repeating by going out and landing one of the most talented starting pitchers available on the free agent market — Blake Snell.
The Dodgers reportedly signed the two-time Cy Young winner to a five-year deal worth $182 million. Los Angeles already boasted a strong rotation, but with the addition of Snell, it gives the defending champions the deepest group of starting pitchers in the league.
What does the Snell deal mean money wise for the organization?Here is a look at the Dodgers’ 2025 payroll after the Snell contract.
Dodgers payroll for 2025
Snell’s contract is worth $182 million across five years, according to ESPN. The deal carries an average annual salary of $36.4 million — the second-highest in MLB history for a pitcher-only contract (behind Jacob deGrom). However, that won’t be what hits the Dodgers’ payroll for the 2025 season.
Like others in the organization, Snell is deferring money on his deal, meaning he will be paid in full at a later date. It allows him to carry a smaller salary cap, giving the Dodgers flexibility to spend elsewhere. Snell joins teammates Shoehi Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Will Smith as players who have deferred money on their contracts.
What Snell will cost the Dodgers’ in payroll i snot 100% certain yet, however Spotrac gave an estimate of about $13 million season, starting in 2025.
Of course, there are quite a few players set to hit arbitration who still need new deals. The most significant names on Los Angeles’ roster that fall into that category include infielder Gavin Lux, and pitchers Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips, and Brusdar Graterol.
In addition, Snell is not the only free agent the Dodgers have had their eyes on, so there figure to be more players added for the upcoming season. Japanese ace Roki Sasaki, who has been posted from Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, is among the potential other targets for L.A.
Here is a look at the team’s updated payroll for 2025, according to Spotrac.
Player Position 2025 Salary
Tyler Glasnow SP $32,500,000
Mookie Betts 2B $30,000,000
Freddie Freeman 1B $27,000,000
Max Muncy 1B $14,500,000
Yoshinobu Yamamoto SP $14,166,666
Chris Taylor 2B $13,000,000
Blake Snell SP $13,000,000
Will Smith C $11,000,000
Tommy Edman CF $9,500,000
Tony Gonsolin SP $5,400,000
Miguel Rojas SS $5,000,000
Ryan Brasier RP $4,500,000
Austin Barnes C $3,500,000
Dustin May SP $2,135,000
Shohei Ohtani DH/SP $2,000,000
Where Dodgers’ 2025 payroll ranks in MLB
Before the Snell deal, the Dodgers sat at No. 4 with a payroll of $174 million for the upcoming campaign.
After? It’s not 100% clear since the Snell deal hasn’t officially hit the books, but it’s safe to say that the Dodgers will be climbing up the list.
Here is a look at what the Dodgers’ pre-Ohtani payroll for 2024 looks like in comparison to the rest of MLB at this moment, according to Spotrac:
Team 2024 Payroll
Philadelphia Phillies $225,707,617
New York Yankees $193,226,666
Atlanta Braves $182,500,000
Los Angeles Dodgers $174,201,666
Los Angeles Angels $150,458,094
San Diego Padres $150,385,453
Houston Astros $146,433,333
Chicago Cubs $148,825,000
Texas Rangers $143,010,000
Toronto Blue Jays $125,564,285
New York Mets $123,250,000
San Francisco Giants $120,249,999
Boston Red Sox $109,944,847
Arizona Diamondbacks $107,025,000
St. Louis Cardinals $105,166,667
Minnesota Twins $99,476,190
Seattle Mariners $97,283,334
Colorado Rockies $96,499,285
Kansas City Royals $82,727,070
Milwaukee Brewers $70,800,000
Cincinnati Reds $59,033,333
Cleveland Guardians $52,708,428
Tampa Bay Rays $50,921,212
Pittsburgh Pirates $42,161,500
Detroit Tigers $41,893,333
Baltimore Orioles $41,200,000
Chicago White Sox $40,350,000
Washington Nationals $32,216,429
Miami Marlins $31,550,000
Athletics $4,500,000
Dodgers deferred contracts
The Dodgers have not been shy about handing out big contracts. When there is no limit to the amount of cash to be given to players like it is in the MLB, millions and millions will be spent by owners willing to pony up the dough.
For Los Angeles, the organization has been able to sign multiple big-name players to massive deals due to the fact that deferred money is involved. Deferred money refers to cash that will be paid to a player down the line once the contract runs out, while keeping their salary hit for the season much lower. In total, the club is on the hook over $960 million in deferred salary.
Currently, the Dodgers are in line to pay Ohtani, Freeman, Betts, Smith and Snell down the line. Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, who is a free agent, also will get paid the rest of his one-year deal he signed last year starting in 2030.
Freeman is owed $57 million from 2028 to 2040. Betts will be owed $115 million in salary from 2033 to 2044, and the final $5 million of his $65 million signing bonus is payable from 2033 to 2035. Smith has $50 million deferred, which will be paid from 2034 to 2043. Hernandez is owed just $8.5 million between 2030 and 2039, and Snell has $60 million in deferred money.
Of course, the grand daddy of all of them is Ohtani. The two-way star’s monstrous deal has a jaw-dropping $680 million in deferred money. Los Angeles eventually will pay that to Ohtani from 2034 to 2043.
Dodgers starting pitchers 2025
Rank Pitcher
No. 1 Shohei Ohtani
No. 2 Blake Snell
No. 3 Yoshinobu Yamamoto
No. 4 Tyler Glasnow
No. 5 Tony Gonsolin/Dustin May/Bobby Miller
Los Angeles is set to lose two of its three starting pitchers from the postseason that helped the team win the 2024 World Series — and yet, next year’s rotation already is vastly improved. The team has four starters who could arguably be the No. 1 ace on any other club.
The Dodgers likely will say goodbye to free agents Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler, but with multiple arms returning to health in 2025, it gives them an incredible amount of depth in the rotation.
Ohtani is expected to get back on the bump next season. The two-way sensation did not pitch at all in 2024 after undergoing surgery on his elbow, but after the year off, he should be back to pitch for the first time as a Dodger.
Snell figures to slot in behind Ohtani. He’s a two-time Cy Young winner and after a rocky start in 2024, he found his form in the back half of the season for the Giants, posting a 1.23 ERA and a 5-0 from July to the end of the season.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto follows him, who performed well in his first year with the Dodgers after coming over from Japan. The righty finished the 2024 season with a 3.00 ERA and 7-2 record, missing parts of the season due to injury.
Tyler Glasnow underwent an operation on his right elbow during the 2024 season, knocking him out by the middle of August. However, he should be returning to start the 2025 season. He is coming off a shortened campaign where he went 9-6 with a 3.49 ERA.
As for the fifth starter, the Dodgers have options. Both Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May missed the entire 2024 season after each underwent Tommy John surgery the season prior. Bobby Miller struggled in 2024, but the young righty could crack the rotation if injuries come into play.
That also does not count Clayton Kershaw, who declined his option for 2025 and is currently a free agent. However, he has reiterated multiple times he will be returning to Los Angeles. The Dodgers also are likely in the running to land Japanese ace Roki Sasaki, who will come over to the MLB from Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.
