Dave Roberts Reveals $182 Million Pitcher Likely to Start Opening Day in LA

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has a strong idea of who will start on March 27 for the team's domestic Opening Day.

Roberts told Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic that he "wasn't allowed to say it outright," but Blake Snell is set up to start the Dodger Stadium opener.

Dave Roberts said he wasn't allowed to say it outright, but intimated that Blake Snell will get the Dodger Stadium opener on March 27. Snell's next outing will be one of the Tokyo exhibitions.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) March 9, 2025

Snell’s next appearance will be in one of the Tokyo exhibition games, as the Dodgers plan to have Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitch Game 1 and potentially Roki Sasaki in Game 2.

Snell hasn’t been particularly sharp this spring. In two starts, he has allowed four earned runs on six hits over 4.1 innings, posting a 7.71 ERA with six strikeouts and one walk.

His latest Cactus League outing came in a 7-5 loss to the Athletics at Camelback Ranch on Sunday. He threw 67 pitches over 3.2 innings, allowing four runs on five hits while striking out five.

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Snell surrendered a home run to left-handed hitter Drew Avans, a former Dodgers minor leaguer. Last season, he allowed just two homers to left-handed batters in 67 plate appearances.

In his first start on Feb. 25, he pitched one inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Despite the mixed results, Snell has been pleased with his velocity, especially in his first outing.

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"I was looking at velo more than I thought I was going to," Snell said. "But yeah, really happy where that's at."

His fastball consistently hit 96 mph in that first start, and after recording the third out, he returned to the bullpen to work on his offspeed pitches.

"Fastball command is everything," Snell said. "If you don't have that, it's going to be very tough to pitch in this league."

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Snell signed a five-year, $182 million contract with the Dodgers in November. A two-time Cy Young winner (2018 with Tampa Bay, 2023 with San Diego), he spent last season with the Giants, going 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA and 145 strikeouts over 104 innings.

Over nine MLB seasons with the Rays (2016-20), Padres (2021-23), and Giants (2024), Snell holds a career record of 76-58 with a 3.19 ERA.

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