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Dodgers Criticized Heavily for $140 Million Blake Snell Contract

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jon Conahan | Last updated May 26, 2025 2:45 PM ET

The Los Angeles Dodgers shocked the baseball world when they signed left-hander Blake Snell to a five-year, $136.9 million deal.

There's a team option in the 2030 season, allowing the Dodgers to get out of his contract if he doesn't throw the baseball the way they're hoping for.

While that has never been the case in Snell’s career, the injuries have been concerning at times.

He dealt with a few during the 2024 campaign for the San Francisco Giants and was brutal to start the year. However, during the second half, he was arguably the best pitcher in baseball, earning the contract that he landed with Los Angeles.

For the Dodgers, he's already been dealing with injuries, throwing in just 9.0 innings this season. When he was on the mound, he was decent, but a shoulder injury is never ideal, and Los Angeles will have to hope that he returns sometime in the near future, with reports suggesting that he could.

But with that injury in mind, and the constant injuries he's faced over the past few years, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report believes he has one of the worst contracts in Major League Baseball.

“But there's no question that the Dodgers thus far have not gotten anything close to their money's worth on what is the third-highest salaried pitcher in the big leagues.

“The good news is his shoulder has gotten the green light from the team doctors and he has been throwing for a little over a week now. He won't be eligible to come off the 60-day IL until early June, but he might be back shortly thereafter,” he wrote.

In his 9.0 innings of work, Snell allowed two earned runs, but struck out just four hitters.

When he's been at his best in his career, he struck out hitters at a very high rate, including 234 in 188.0 innings for the San Diego Padres in 2023, when he won his second Cy Young Award.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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