The Los Angeles Dodgers, current champions of the World Series, are making a significant move this offseason by signing a two-time Cy Young Award recipient.

Blake Snell, a left-handed pitcher, has reportedly agreed to a five-year deal worth $182 million with the Dodgers. This information comes from a source who wishes to remain anonymous as the deal has not been publicly confirmed yet.

After failing to secure a long-term contract last winter, Snell played for the San Francisco Giants last season under a one-year, $32 million contract, finishing with a 5-3 record and a 3.12 ERA over 20 starts. His outstanding performance in the second half of the season, which included a no-hitter against Cincinnati and a mere 1.31 ERA across 13 games, led him to opt out of his contract’s final year.

While the Dodgers celebrated their World Series triumph, they faced challenges in ensuring a stable pitching rotation. Right-handers Walker Buehler and Jack Flaherty are set to become free agents, and several pitchers, including lefty Clayton Kershaw, have fitness concerns heading into 2025.

The Dodgers have a staggering commitment of over $1 billion to several pitchers they hope will be in the rotation for the coming season. This includes right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a $325 million deal before the 2023 season, and Tyler Glasnow, who penned a $136.5 million extension after being traded from the Rays.

With Snell’s addition, the Dodgers have now committed $643.5 million, not including any portion of Shohei Ohtani’s massive 10-year, $700 million deal that might be attributed to pitching.

Snell has experienced slow starts in his career, but his last season was particularly noteworthy in this regard. After missing spring training, he made just three starts for the Giants before a thigh injury sidelined him for a month.

In his first six starts of the season, his record was disappointing at 0-3 with a 9.51 ERA.

However, after returning from injury on July 9, he excelled, allowing only 11 earned runs in his last 14 starts, recording a 5-0 record and a stellar 1.23 ERA over 80⅓ innings, contributing significantly to the Giants’ 12-2 record in those games. This impressive run included his first career no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds on August 2.

This stellar performance made Snell a prime target for the Dodgers, who were eager to secure one of the best pitchers available this offseason, alongside Max Fried and Corbin Burnes.

Snell, turning 32 on December 4, was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the first round out of high school in 2011. He had a successful five-year career with the Rays, highlighted by a 21-win season and an AL Cy Young award in 2018, before being traded to the San Diego Padres after the 2020 season.

His three-year stint with the Padres saw him win the 2023 NL Cy Young award, after which he became a free agent and signed with the Giants last offseason.

Across his nine seasons in Major League Baseball, Snell holds a career record of 76-58 with a 3.19 ERA in 211 games, with an extraordinary average of 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings, ranking him first in MLB history among pitchers with at least 1,000 innings pitched.