The Los Angeles Dodgers have been linked with every high-profile starting pitcher available since the off-season started. Even after winning the World Series, they have to focus on their rotation because key pitchers left via free agency (Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw) or are question marks for 2025 due to injury.
On Nov. 30, it was revealed that the Dodgers were signing Blake Snell to a five-year deal worth $182 million. That move doesn’t necessarily preclude LA from acquiring more pitching: they actually need more.
However, it does appear to take them out of contention for a fellow star free agent, Corbin Burnes. Per MLB insider Bob Nightengale, the former Brewers and Orioles ace was eager to go to the Dodgers.
The Dodgers are unlikely to pursue Burnes after landing Snell
“I’m sure Corbin Burnes wanted to go there,” Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports told Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain. “It’s probably tough for Corbin Burnes to see Snell there, not him. No one doesn’t want to pitch at Dodger Stadium — it’s a great pitcher’s ballpark. And obviously, you know, you’re a World Series contender every single year,” SI.com wrote.
Per SI, the 2021 NL Cy Young winner probably preferred the West Coast:
“Burnes has strong West Coast connections, growing up in Bakersfield, California, and playing college baseball at Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga, which is about 40 minutes from San Francisco,” they wrote.
Burnes is projected by many to get a slightly bigger contract than Snell. The popular prediction seems to be in the low $200 million range in a commitment that could be six or seven years.
The Dodgers, however, have liked Snell for a while and made him a big part of their future. Burnes remains in talks with many contenders, most notably the San Francisco Giants and many AL East teams such as the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox, and the Toronto Blue Jays.