The Los Angeles Dodgers have a comfortable lead atop the NL West despite not having Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow in their rotation. Both players have missed time due to injuries, yet the Dodgers remain optimistic they will make an impact.
Snell is currently on the 60-day injured list recovering from a minimally invasive “NanoNeedle” surgery to extract loose bodies in his left elbow. The veteran pitcher has already begun a throwing progression and is on track for a potential return to the Dodgers by late July or August.
Meanwhile, Glasnow is on the 60-day injured list due to recurring lower back spasms. He initially left a start against the Houston Astros on May 6 and was shut down from throwing after making limited rehab progress.
In a June 18 video from the “Dodgers Collective” podcast, The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya said that Los Angeles remains optimistic that Snell and Glasnow will have an impact this season.
“I think [the Dodgers] obviously have confidence, not just that they’ll get back, but also that they have enough time to figure it out and get back into a groove,” Ardaya
“There’s a lot of faith and trust, especially in a guy like Blake Snell, who has clearly come back from injury before and gotten better as seasons have gone on. That’s the guy you trust in that spot.”
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Moreover, Ardaya shared details about the two starting pitchers and the current situation. Starting with Snell, the Dodgers insider notes that Los Angeles won’t be rushing the starting pitcher, even though he’s undergoing a similar procedure to Tarik Skubal.
“Snell has been throwing, which is a good sign,” Ardaya added. “It’s fair, but also not fair to compare his timeline to Tarik Skubal’s from the Nano Needle for different reasons. Like Skubal obviously has a lot of incentive, and the Tigers have a lot of incentive to get him back as soon as possible, just considering Skubal has free agency at the end of the year.
“Tigers are trying to get back into it. The Dodgers are, while obviously it helps to have the less invasive procedure and they’re not gonna like throttle Blake Snell just to get him back during the regular season. So all signs are good there.”
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As for Glasnow, Ardaya shared a worrying update, but given there’s plenty of time left in the season, the Dodgers might feel they can find a solution to address the recurring lower back spasms.
“It’s one of those things where he usually said once it goes away, it usually just goes away,” Ardaya said. “They have done scans, and the scans have been clean; there is no structural damage in there. We asked him, and he said ‘muscular’ and ‘nerve,’ but he did not really know.
“It is more just when he gets to the point where he is trying to get onto that back foot and load in the throw, that is when he feels it. So I think there is still optimism that he will be able to ramp it up at some point here soon.
“There is still plenty of time left in the season, even if it is closer to the All-Star break. If that is the timeline, you are still looking at a guy who has about two months to get back in the same groove he was in to start the season.”
Dodgers Insider Issues Injury Update on Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow