The Los Angeles Dodgers have dealt with their fair share of pitching injuries this season. The list is almost too long to even mention all the players, but the likes of Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Michael Kopech, Blake Treinen, Tanner Scott, and Kirby Yates have all had their various ailments this season. Some pitchers are missing the entirety of the year (Evan Phillips), and others have yet to even pitch this season (Brusdar Graterol).
However, the Dodgers are starting to receive good news on the pitching front, and they got more this week with the announcement that starter Snell will make his first start since April 2nd.
Blake Snell Returning From 60-Day IL
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced today that they are activating starting pitcher Snell off the Injured List, and he will make his return against one of his former teams, the Tampa Bay Rays.
Snell had been dealing with a shoulder injury over the last four months, and the recovery process took a lot longer than some had anticipated, but the Dodgers will welcome Snell back to the rotation, which could use a boost. Snell signed a five-year, $137 million contract with Los Angeles before the season, but has only started two games this season. His ERA is 2.00 over nine innings, but that is not nearly a big enough sample size to assess his season.
The Dodgers hope that Snell will be healthy for the two months remaining in the Dodgers’ regular season and be available for the playoffs, which is what they paid him a large contract for. Snell serves as a huge addition to the Dodgers’ rotation, which recently welcomed Glasnow back, and two-way star Shohei Ohtani is also starting to get lengthened out as a starter. It’s unclear what to expect out of Snell in his first game back, but he is likely on a pitch count, and Los Angeles hopes that his velocity is where it should be (mid-90s) and his control is firm. Snell walked eight batters in his first nine innings before going down with that shoulder injury.
Snell Has Put Together a Phenomenal Career
Snell is a two-time Cy Young award winner, and won the illustrious pitcher award with the team he is making his return against, the Tampa Bay Rays. The 32-year-old Snell had a 1.89 ERA in 180.1 innings and 220 strikeouts in his 2018 Cy Young campaign. When healthy, Snell has the best strikeout stuff out of any left-handed starter.
He spent his first five seasons of his career with the Rays and had a 3.24 ERA with the team and 648 strikeouts. Snell and Glasnow formed a lethal top two in the Rays’ rotation, which led them to a 2020 World Series berth, where they fell short to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He then joined the San Diego Padres in 2021 and brought home his second Cy Young award in 2023 with another dominant season.
The Dodgers’ rotation desperately needs Snell to at least consistently be able to take the ball each fifth day and alleviate some pressure off the bullpen. Los Angeles recently traded away Dustin May, who had 104 innings pitched this season.
Dodgers Activate $137 Million Starter in Huge Rotation Boost