The Los Angeles Dodgers were the best team in the league in 2024 and it wasn't particularly close. The worst part about this for the rest of the league was the fact that they were far from healthy.
They signed Shohei Ohtani to a $700 million contract because he could hit and pitch. Following Tommy John surgery in 2023, Ohtani couldn't pitch in 2024, so they really only saw half his value. Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and plenty of other stars missed time, too.
Getting healthy would be the biggest upgrade the Dodgers could make this winter. Anything past that would take them from a super-team to one of the best baseball teams in the history of the game.
The Dodgers prefer to chase history rather than accept the idea of just returning healthy. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic is reporting the Dodgers are one of the teams closest to free agent pitcher Blake Snell. Snell is widely regarded as the second-best pitcher in free agency, though when he's on, he might be the best pitcher in baseball, period.
"Blake Snell is not wasting any time. The free-agent left-hander recently met with the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, according to sources with knowledge of the discussions," Rosenthal wrote.
Mind you, Snell is entering free agency following a 2023 season with the San Diego Padres and a 2024 season with the San Francisco Giants, the Dodgers' two biggest rivals.
Snell landing with the Dodgers is nightmare fuel for the rest of the league. A rotation of Ohtani, Snell, Yamamoto, and Glasnow wouldn't lose in a seven-game series to any current team in the league.
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