This is The Athletic’s MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox. The Winter Meetings start in a week. Blake Snell jumped the gun and signed before they started. Will Juan Soto be next?

Blake Snell signed a five-year contract with the Dodgers with about $65 million deferred, which allows the team flexibility to sign additional players.

The 2018 American League Cy Young Award winner with the Tampa Bay Rays, Snell won the National League Cy Young in 2023 after going 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA for the San Diego Padres. He became a free agent last winter but stayed on the market well into March looking for a long-term deal that never materialized despite his Cy Young history.