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Free-agent left-hander Blake Snell and the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a five-year, $182 million contract, sources told ESPN on Tuesday night.

The deal, which is pending a physical, includes no opt-outs, some deferred money and a $52 million signing bonus, sources said.

For the Dodgers, Snell gives the World Series champions a frontline starter for their title defense next season after they survived October by depending heavily on their bullpen with just three healthy starters. For Snell, the pact marks a much quicker and satisfying conclusion to his second stint as a free agent.

The $182 million contract is the third largest for a left-handed pitcher in major league history based on total value, behind only David Price‘s with the Boston Red Sox in 2015 ($217 million) and Clayton Kershaw‘s with the Dodgers in 2014 ($215M).

And for the Dodgers, it’s another massive deal for a free agent. They’ve now handed out five contracts worth at least $100 million since the start of the 2023-24 offseason — the same number as the rest of MLB combined.

Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, opted out of the final season of his two-year, $62 million deal with the San Francisco Giants on Nov. 1 to become a free agent for the second straight offseason.

He joins the Giants’ archrival in Southern California and a rotation that is, on paper, loaded for 2025. As it stands, the Dodgers boast Snell, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow plus Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Bobby Miller and Kershaw — should he re-sign with the club, as expected — as options to round out the group. The Dodgers are also among the leading contenders to sign Japanese star right-hander Roki Sasaki, who is expected to be posted this winter.

Snell was the National League’s Cy Young Award winner with the San Diego Padres in 2023 — five years after winning the American League honor with the Tampa Bay Rays — but his market never materialized to his liking. Concerns about inconsistent strike-throwing prompted his offers to fall short of the six-year, $162 million contract previously obtained by another power lefty in Carlos Rodon.

He instead joined the Giants in late March, missing most of spring training and struggling mightily at the start of the 2024 season. Six starts in, Snell held a 9.51 ERA and was headed to the injured list for a second time with a groin strain. When he returned, Snell performed like one of the game’s best pitchers to finish at 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA and 145 strikeouts (and just 44 walks) in 104 innings over 20 starts, making his decision to opt out a no-brainer.

In 14 starts from early July to late September, the 31-year-old left-hander posted a 1.23 ERA with 114 strikeouts and 30 walks in 80⅓ innings. On Aug. 2, he threw a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds. In eight other instances, he completed at least six innings and allowed no more than two runs.

He was sidelined between April 19 and May 22 by a strained left adductor and between June 2 and July 9 by a strained left groin.

Snell took the league by storm with the Rays in 2018, leading the majors with 21 wins and pacing the AL with a 1.89 ERA. He was solid over the ensuing four years, continually missing bats at an elite level, but his ERA jumped to 3.85 during that stretch.

Overall, he is 76-58 with a 3.19 ERA in nine MLB seasons.

The only pitcher in the majors over the past two seasons with at least 250 innings and a lower ERA than Snell is the Detroit TigersTarik Skubal.

Snell’s $36.4 million average salary would rank as the fifth-highest among active deals next year behind Ohtani ($70 million), Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler ($42 million), New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge ($40 million) and Texas Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom ($37 million).

The Dodgers are currently +400 favorites to win the 2025 World Series at ESPN BET. There has not been a repeat World Series champion since the Yankees won three straight titles from 1998 to 2000. It’s the longest drought without a repeat champion in MLB history.

ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Scheifele plays, scores hours after losing father

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Scheifele plays, scores hours after losing father

DALLAS — Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele scored a goal in his club’s must-win Game 6 of the second-round playoff series at Dallas on Saturday night, hours after the unexpected death of his father.

But he also had the penalty that set up the Stars’ power-play goal in overtime for a 2-1 win that knocked the top-ranked Jets out of the playoffs.

Jets captain Adam Lowry went and got Scheifele out of the box when the game ended.

“We’re a family. Just to let him know that we’re there for him. It’s just an awful day for him,” Lowry said. “You want to give him the strength, you want to get that kill so bad. We just couldn’t do it.”

During the handshake line afterward, Scheifele hugged and talked to just about everyone, with Stars players clearly offering their support to him in a heartwarming moment.

Scheifele scored his fifth goal of the playoffs 5½ minutes into the second period to give the Jets a 1-0 lead. He scored on a short snap shot from just outside the crease after gathering the rebound of a shot by Kyle Connor.

“I just I know we have a great group here. I knew, going in, once we found out the news that he’s going to have a great support group and we’re going to be there for him through the highs and the lows and obviously today was a real low,” defenseman Neal Pionk said of Scheifele. “[We] did everything we could to give him some words of encouragement, [and] for him to play tonight, and play the way he did, is flat out one of the most courageous things we’ve ever seen.”

The game was tied at 1 when Sam Steel, who had already scored for Dallas, was on a break. Scheifele lunged forward desperately trying to make a play when he tripped up the forward at the blue line with 14.8 seconds in regulation. Scheifele and the Jets avoided a penalty shot on the play, but ended up losing on the power play when Thomas Harley scored 1:33 into overtime.

Jets coach Scott Arniel said the news of Brad Scheifele’s passing overnight was difficult for the entire team. The team was told before the optional morning skate.

“On behalf of the Winnipeg Jets family, our condolences to Mark and his family. It rocked us all this morning when we found out,” Arniel said before the game. “Mark will be playing tonight. As he said, that’d be the wishes of his dad. He would have wanted him to play.”

Scheifele was the last Jets player to leave the ice following pregame warmups, and during at least part of the singing of “O Canada,” he had his head bowed and his eyes closed. He took the opening faceoff against Roope Hintz.

“The thing about Mr. Scheifele is he’s part of our family. He’s part of the Jets family. He goes back to 2011 when Mark was first drafted here,” Arniel said. “We have a lot of players that came in around the time that are still here that he’s been a big part of their life, along with their family. So it’s certainly, obviously devastating for Mark, but also for a lot of guys on this team.”

Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said the organization was doing everything it can to support Scheifele. There was no immediate word on the cause of Brad Scheifele’s death.

The 32-year-old Mark Scheifele finished with 11 points (five goals, six assists) while playing in 11 of the Jets’ 13 games this postseason. He missed Games 6 and 7 of the first-round series against St. Louis with an undisclosed injury after taking a pair of big hits early in Game 5 of that series.

In Game 5 against the Stars on Thursday night, a 4-0 win by Winnipeg that extended the series, Scheifele was sucker-punched by Stars captain Jamie Benn during a late scrum. Benn got a game misconduct penalty and was fined by the NHL the maximum-allowed $5,000 but avoided a suspension.

Scheifele had 87 points (39 goals and 48 assists) in the 82 regular-season games.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Stars win, oust Presidents’ Trophy-winning Jets

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Stars win, oust Presidents' Trophy-winning Jets

DALLAS — Thomas Harley scored on a power play 1:33 into overtime and the Dallas Stars advanced to the Western Conference final for the third season in a row, beating the top-seeded Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in Game 6 on Saturday night.

Mark Scheifele scored for the Jets hours after the unexpected death of his father, but also had a tripping penalty with 14.8 seconds left in regulation that set up Dallas to start overtime with a man advantage.

Sam Steel, who had scored earlier for Dallas, was on a break when Scheifele lunged forward desperately trying to make a play when he tripped up the forward at the blue line. The Stars called a timeout, but missed a shot and had another one blocked before the end of regulation.

The Stars move on to face the Edmonton Oilers in the West final for the second year in a row and will host Game 1. Connor McDavid and his club, which won in six games last year, wrapped up their second-round series with a 1-0 overtime win over Vegas on Wednesday night in Game 5.

Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger made 22 saves to wrap up his sixth playoff series win over the past three seasons. He made an incredible diving save with 8½ minutes left in regulation, leaning to the right before having to lunge back across his body toward the left post to knock down a shot by Mason Appleton.

Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stopped 19 shots but couldn’t prevent a loss that assured a winless record for his club on the road this postseason. Meanwhile, his final goal allowed continued a magical season for Harley, Dallas’ breakout blueliner who also played for Team Canada this season in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

“Not surprising to the guys in here,” Oettinger said of Harley’s rise to prominence. “We’re very lucky.”

Steel notched his first goal of the playoffs midway through the second period. He shot a long rebound from the top of the right circle, sending the puck into the upper right corner of the net just above Hellebuyck’s glove.

“I’m just disappointed,” Winnipeg captain Adam Lowry said. “We couldn’t get that [penalty] kill for [the fans], and get it back to win in Winnipeg for Game 7. But you know, [I’m] really proud of this group, and the way they handled everything, and the way we fought back. … It just came up short.”

The Jets become the next in a long line of Presidents’ Trophy winners to bow out early. The award, which goes to the NHL’s top regular-season team, was won by the New York Rangers last season before they lost in the Eastern Conference final. Two years ago, the No. 1 seed Boston Bruins lost in the first round to the Florida Panthers.

“We lost to a great team,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “We lost to a team that was in our rearview mirror all year long.”

Scheifele’s effort was a focus for Dallas coach Pete DeBoer, who began his postgame media availability by saying what the Jets star forward did in playing Saturday was “courageous,” adding “I’m sure his dad would’ve been really proud of him and what he did.”

For the Stars, it’s off to the NHL’s final four, as the franchise continues to seek its second Stanley Cup title.

“I think we’ve got something special going on. We’re going to have to prove it again,” DeBoer said. “You know, we’ve been to this spot the last two years and haven’t taken the next step, so that’s the challenge.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Eichel, Knights seek ‘common ground’ on new deal

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Eichel, Knights seek 'common ground' on new deal

As the Vegas Golden Knights absorb being knocked out in the second round of the NHL playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers, they don’t have to wait long before planning for their future. Jack Eichel, who has one season left on his eight-year, $80 million contract, is eligible for an extension beginning July 1.

“He’s one of the top guys in the NHL,” general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “He’s got great character, great leadership. You see night in, night out what he does for our team, so that will be a really important piece of business for us. We certainly hope to keep Jack in our organization. Jack loves it here, so I would hope we could find common ground.”

Eichel, 28, comes off the best season of his 10-year career, the past four with the Golden Knights. He set career highs with 66 assists and 94 points to go with 28 goals as the center on the team’s top line. He also skated for Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off, where his club finished second to Canada.

“Can’t say enough about my teammates and the people in this building and the people that make this organization what it is,” Eichel said. “I’m super proud to be part of this organization and the city and represent the Vegas Golden Knights. Contractually, I think things kind of take care of itself. I’ll just worry about trying to prepare for next season this offseason and go from there.”

Management, which is not known for sitting on its hands, will have other significant decisions to make as well on the team’s direction after the Golden Knights were eliminated in the second round for the second year in a row.

“I like our team,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I don’t have a problem with any player in that room. I think every one of them is a great teammate. They care about one another. Are there areas of our game we could complement better? Probably. We’ll evaluate that.

“All the guys that were up, their contracts, they were all good players for us. All good players. No disappointments at all. We’ll probably have to look at areas because we’re not the last team standing. Usually, you think, ‘Where can we upgrade? Where can I upgrade what I do?'”

McCrimmon offered a similar assessment.

“I feel our team was good enough to win,” McCrimmon said.

The Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup two years ago and thought they had another contender this season after capturing the Pacific Division and securing the Western Conference’s second-best record. But Vegas had to rally from a 2-1 series deficit to beat Minnesota in the opening round, winning twice in overtime. Then the Golden Knights lost two overtime games in the 4-1 series loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

“I didn’t walk away from Edmonton saying, ‘We had no chance. They’re just better,'” Cassidy said. “I didn’t feel that way. I felt we needed to execute better in a few of the games and we could be the team moving on.”

Forward William Karlsson said losing to the Oilers made it “a wasted season.” McCrimmon wasn’t as blunt, instead labeling the loss as “a missed opportunity.”

Change will come, but at least given the tenor of the comments by Cassidy and McCrimmon, the Golden Knights will largely return their roster intact next season.

“I think we have a great organization,” goaltender Adin Hill said. “Best management I’ve been under. I think they’re going to do the things that they see fit for [the] roster, whether it’s keeping it the same or whether it’s changing up a few things. I don’t know. That’s their decision, above my paygrade, but it will be exciting to see. We know that we’re going to be contenders every year.”

Forward Reilly Smith made it clear he wants to return. An original Golden Knight, Smith was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins after winning the Stanley Cup and then sent to the New York Rangers a year later. The Golden Knights reacquired the 34-year-old on March 6.

Smith made a smooth transition back into the lineup with three goals and eight assists in 21 games. Then he delivered the play of the postseason for the Golden Knights, scoring with 0.4 seconds left to beat the Oilers in Game 3, and finished with three goals and an assist in 11 playoff games.

“Probably the best hockey I’ve played in my career has been wearing this jersey,” Smith said. “It’s a fun group to be a part of and a fun place to call home. My family loves it here, so if there’s a way to make it work, it’d be great. At the end of the day, it’s a business. My contract negotiations, I probably know as little as [the media does] right now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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