The Los Angeles Dodgers won their second World Series title in four years after beating the New York Yankees in the Fall Classic in October. But the NL reigning World Series winners have made the first big splash in the offseason.
The NL West team signed two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell for a reported $182 million contract over five years on Tuesday. He joins Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin on a star-studded rotation.
While fans of opposition teams are enraged by the Dodgers spending big despite their record-breaking deals for Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto last offseason, former World Series winner and All-Star catcher William Contreras isn't too worried about it.
Contreras shared a post in his Instagram story highlighting the fact that Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell were up against Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin when the Tampa Bay Rays faced the Dodgers in the World Series in 2020.
The Milwaukee Brewers catcher captioned his story (translated to English):
"Ah, but its easy to beat, of course. An infield hit in the series and you come out winning."
According to reports, the Dodgers' deal for Snell is going to be deferred, just like Ohtani's last year. As per the New York Post, the Dodgers will defer $60 million of Snell's contract.
Top sportscaster sounds alarm bell over Dodgers' Blake Snell deal
The Dodgers' spending prowess has not sat well with renowned sportscaster Rich Eisen. In his podcast "The Rich Eisen Show," the sports commentator shared his concern.
"I think Major League Baseball has a Los Angeles Dodgers problem," Eisen said. "Two ways, actually. First, the way they are now following up their World Series championship year with a rotation that appears to include Tyler Glasnow, Yamamoto, and Shohei Ohtani."
Shohei Ohtani, who had a historic 50-50 season in his first year with the Dodgers, is expected to resume pitching next season, further strengthening the team's rotation.
There is still plenty of time in the offseason, and if reports are to be believed, the Dodgers are also in for Juan Soto, who is likely to command a fee of more than $500,000,000.