Dodgers Could Lose 2 Key Free Agents After Blake Snell Signing

Valentina Martinez | Dec 1, 2024

Oct 28, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler (21) pitches during the first inning against the New York Yankees in game three of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images / Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers hadn't even been the reigning World Series champions for an entire month before signing free agent pitcher Blake Snell to a five-year, $185 million contract. With Snell joining the Dodgers' starting rotation, it doesn't bode well for fans that hoped starting pitchers Walker Buehler and Jack Flaherty would return for the 2025 season.

In an interview with Dodgers Nation's Doug McKain, MLB insider Bob Nightengale believes there isn't room for Buehler or Flaherty in Los Angeles.

“Well, I can’t see Buehler coming back now," Nightengale told McKain. "Same with Jack Flaherty. I mean, obviously, they could have kept Buehler by giving him a qualifying offer. I think Buehler would have taken it at $21 million. I’m sure they talked and said, ‘Okay, we’ll offer you, you know, say around $15 million,’ and he wasn’t interested.

"So, I think some teams will jump on Buehler and give him a nice back-loaded one-year contract, with a player option for a second year. He was great in the postseason — or solid, I should say. Great in the back end. He came out in the ninth inning of Game 5, particularly, being a free agent coming off the surgery and everything else. Great team player. But I would doubt it now. It’s like, where does he actually fit? You already have seven, eight starters. Particularly, like you said, if you get the young pitcher, Roki Sasaki, from Japan — there’s really no room for him or Flaherty.”

The Dodgers starting rotation already had several pitchers that could be labeled as aces in Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Adding Snell, a two-time Cy Young winner, made the rotation all the more dangerous.

Buehler and Flaherty were two of just three starters in the Dodgers' postseason rotation. Buehler was selected as a starter out of necessity as the Dodgers' rotation had dwindled because of injury by the time October rolled around.

Buehler struggled throughout the 2024 campaign, but proved he was still a lights out pitcher during the postseason. The right-hander pitched 10 scoreless innings in his last three playoff outings for the Dodgers.

Flaherty posted a 3.17 ERA, 194 strikeouts, and 38 walks over 162 innings for both the Tigers and Dodgers in 2024. Although the right-hander had somewhat of a bumpy postseason accumulating an ERA of 7.36, Flaherty would certainly bolster any rotation.

Both Buehler and Flaherty will likely land considerable contracts elsewhere, but it's unlikely either will return to the Dodgers.