The LA Dodgers have mastered the art of trolling other MLB teams. The recent one? A jab at none other than the San Diego Padres in their upcoming match. This time the team is doing it with two pieces of promotion for their game. A Blake Snell bobblehead and a replica World Series trophy giveaway. Both of which the Padres have lost at some point.  

Snell was part of San Diego from 2020 to 2023. He was then traded and acquired by the Giants in 2024. For 2025, Snell opted out and got recruited by the Dodgers. Now, the 32-year-old pitcher will play against the team with whom he won a Cy Young award. Ironic, isn’t it? As for the replica of the WS trophy, that’s the only one the Padres could get their hands on.  

Dodgers’ marketing team knows what they’re doing  

After watching the Padres stumble through another postseason-less year while the Dodgers were hoisting the World Series trophy in 2024, LA is now giving them an extra little poke. During a three-game series in June, the Dodgers are handing out a World Series replica trophy on June 17—just to make sure San Diego gets its first real look at what winning it all feels like. Talk about flexing. But wait, there’s more. On June 16, they’ll be gifting fans with a Blake Snell bobblehead.  

Yep, you read that right. Snell will now be wearing Dodger blue for the next five years. After a season where their starting rotation was solid but lacked a true top-tier arm, they got their man: Blake Snell. The two-time Cy Young Award winner, fresh off a dominant run with the Padres, has inked a five-year, $182 million deal with the reigning World Series champs.

The Dodgers’ pursuit of Blake Snell did not start this year

Los Angeles was one of the teams attempting to sign the great left-hander at the final minute before Blake Snell agreed to the two-year, $62 million contract with the Giants last March, which included an opt-out clause. The Dodgers made another attempt to acquire Snell at the Trade Deadline after the Giants lost their postseason hopes.

But now that the winter is well underway, the Dodgers have finally taken action and signed Snell to a five-year, $182 million contract that includes some deferred money and a huge $52 million signing bonus—classic Dodgers. The club is fully committed to 2025, and Snell is their guy. The reunion with Andrew Friedman is also a pleasant plot point.

When Tampa Bay selected Snell in the first round of the 2011 draft, Friedman was with the Rays before joining the Dodgers as president of baseball operations.It’s perfect for the 32-year-old starting pitcher, who will join a World Series contender, and has a chance to further cement his legacy, and is reunited with a familiar face in Friedman! Looks like the Dodgers will stop at nothing to maintain their position as champions.