MLB Offseason Weekly Recap: Dodgers’ Splashes, Cubs to Hire Ex-Pirates’ Hitting Coach

This is a weekly update highlighting the notable news and transactions from the 2024-25 Major League Baseball offseason.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are looking to defend their World Series and made a couple of big moves during Thanksgiving week of the offseason to try and do so.

The Dodgers bolstered their rotation by signing one of the top starting pitchers available in left-hander Blake Snell to a five-year, $182 million deal. The soon-to-be 32-year-old joins an already-impressive starting rotation highlighted by Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Snell, who won the 2023 National League Cy Young while with the San Diego Padres, missed some time in 2024 but dominated down the stretch. Over his final 14 starts of the season, Snell went a perfect 5-0 with a sparkling 1.23 ERA and held opponents to a .123/.211/.171 batting line.

Snell’s best start of the season came on Aug. 2 against the Cincinnati Reds, when he tossed a no-hitter and struck out 11 batters. Across 20 starts on the year, Snell went 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA and 145 strikeouts in 104 innings.

In addition to brining on an impact player as a free agent, the Dodgers secured an extension with one of their own. Utilityman Tommy Edman and the Dodgers agreed to a five-year extension worth $74 million. The deal comes with a club option for 2030.

Edman, who was sidelined for most of the 2024 campaign, was acquired by the Dodgers from the Cardinals at the trade deadline. During the regular season,  Edman hit .237 with a .711 OPS and belted six home runs with 2o RBIs in 37 games.

The 29-year-old made his mark during the postseason when he won NLCS MVP after hitting .407 and driving in 11 runs in six games to help the Dodgers punch their ticket to the World Series.

Angels Land Kikuchi

The Dodgers weren’t the only team from Los Angeles to add a starting pitcher to their rotation. The Angeles announced that they signed left-handed pitcher Yusei Kikuchi to a three-year, $63 million contract.

Kikuchi, 33, split the season between the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros and went 9-10 with a 4.05 ERA and a career-high 206 strikeouts in 175.2 innings spanning 32 starts.

The Angels have been aggressive this offseason, already landing Kikuchi, Jorge Soler, Kyle Hendricks, Travis d’Arnaud, Kevin Newman and Scott Kingery.

Cubs Reportedly Hire Andy Haines

The Pittsburgh Pirates replaced hitting coach Andy Haines with Matt Hague earlier this offseason, but the former reportedly has a new home.  According to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers in a radio interview, the Cubs are hiring Haines for an unknown role with the team.

Haines, who served as Pirates’ hitting coach from 2021-23, was previously the hitting coach under current Cubs manager Craig Counsell when he served in the same position with the Milwaukee Brewers.