The Dodgers are now defending champions and the work on defending their title has already begun after some well-deserved rest and recovery.

While the offseason work has already begun here at True Blue LA, I remembered the last time the Dodgers were in this position in the offseason following the 2020 COVID Cup.

I kept thinking about a quote I read from Andy McCullough’s biography of Clayton Kershaw: The Last of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness.

When discussing the thought process Kershaw went through in the years after winning the 2020 World Series that led him back to the Dodgers after he considered joining his hometown Texas Rangers and retiring, the front office’s mindset was discussed of the Dodgers at the start of the 2021 season and is best described in three words.

“Let’s be pigs.”

On page 325 of McCullough’s book, the above quote is attributed to Andrew Friedman, as the organization’s idea was not to settle for just one title on its laurels.

Snellzilla is coming south

Aside from what the Dodgers have done in 2021, the question is whether the Dodgers would make it big again this current offseason. That question was seriously answered late Tuesday evening.

On the evening of November 26th, Blake Snell posted a photo of himself in a Dodger jersey. Shortly after, the other shoe dropped.

Pending a physical, the defending champions bolstered their rotation with Snell, arguably the best starter on the market in five years, at $182 million.

Snell, represented by Scott Boras, famously started 2024 late after signing late with the San Francisco Giants in hopes of landing a massive free agent deal that simply didn’t materialize. Snell signed a two-year, $64 million contract with San Francisco with an out clause.

After a rocky start, the question arose as the season progressed If Snell’s decision to end his deal with the Giants was a matter of When Would Snell opt out of his deal with the Giants?

In his last 14 starts this year, Snell was nearly unbeatable. He had a 1.23 earned run average and held opponents to a batting line of .123/.211/.171. His FIP during this stretch was a spectacular 1.77.

Assuming his physical fitness passes, Snell will slot into the emerging hydra that now makes up the Dodgers’ rotation with Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow. Not to mention Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Landon Knack and the likely returning Clayton Kershaw.

Snell’s deal includes about $60 million in deferred money and a clause that would have the Dodgers pay Snell an additional $5 million if he were traded.

Currently, the new contract would cover Snell’s seasons from ages 32 to 36. Snell’s contract includes a $52 million signing bonus and no release clauses.

When this signing becomes official, the Dodgers will have 37 players on the 40-man rosterincluding 23 pitchers and 14 position players.