The duo of left handers Blake Snell and Clayton Kershaw marks the tenth time in baseball history that a pair of multiple Cy Young Award winners share the same rotation.
Snell had already mentioned that he would love to share a locker next to Kershaw, and on Wednesday, he wrapped up his first bullpen session of the spring in front of the future Hall of Fame southpaw. When asked by Greg Amsinger of MLB Network about his recent session, Snell was in awe while pitching in front of Kershaw, calling it the “coolest thing” he’s done so far in his career.
“You see Kershaw, that’s crazy to me. That’s like the coolest thing I think I’ve done in my career is pitching in front of him, so I just can’t wait to see how the season goes.”
Snell’s pitching repertoire features a devastating 12-6 curveball, which caused hitters to whiff at a 49.8 percent clip and batted a measly .111 against. When asked by Tom Verducci about how he’ll get dialed in on his curveball, Snell wants to get a feel of the pitch before focusing on his control.
“Right now it’s all feel. I want to feel like I’m out in front with the pitch and feel like I understand it, and then I’ll start to control it and I’ll put more effort into just throwing it harder and connecting with my lower half. I’m just building as we go.”
“You see Kershaw, that’s crazy to me. That’s like the coolest thing I think I’ve done in my career is pitching in front of him…”
Blake Snell reacts to his first #SpringTraining bullpen with the @Dodgers. pic.twitter.com/rUPDjHRVEc
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 12, 2025
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Clayton Kershaw is officially back with the Dodgers for his 18th season, tying Zack Wheat and Bill Russell for the most seasons spent with the Dodgers in franchise history. A self proclaimed “Dodger for life,” Kershaw is still undecided on when he wants to hang up the spikes, but he wants to go out on his own terms without injuries playing a deciding factor, per Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
“I don’t want [injuries] to be the reason that I stopped playing,” he said. “I don’t want to be, like, ‘I just can’t do it, [I’m] hurt.’ Hopefully, I can walk out on my own terms, whenever that is.”
The Dodgers have gotten their first glimpse into seeing Roki Sasaki pitch live at Camelback Ranch, and he has turned the heads of the team’s brass, including that of catcher Austin Barnes. Barnes had the chance to catch one of Sasaki’s bullpen sessions, and was caught off guard by how ridiculous his arsenal is, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
“Oh my gosh,’’ Dodgers veteran catcher Austin Barnes said after catching his bullpen session. “The fastball is a big fastball, it has a lot of carry and ride to it… And the split-finger is different. I’ve never seen a pitch like that before… A crazy talent. It’s exciting to see what he’s going to do.’’