After months on the shelf, the Los Angeles Dodgers veteran southpaw marks a critical step toward reclaiming his form before the postseason.
Los Angeles Dodgers fans were spoiled by what their team did at the trade deadline, but they finally have a date set for Blake Snell's return.
The 33-year-old has been on the shelf since Saturday, May 9, when he went just three innings against the Atlanta Braves.
Snell currently has an 0-1 record with a 12.00 ERA and a 2.67 WHIP. Obviously, none of those numbers can be taken at face value.
The Dodgers southpaw will be activated from the 60-day Injured List and is scheduled to start on Tuesday, Aug. 11, according to USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale.
Coincidentally, that'll come one day after their newly acquired ace, Tarik Skubal, is going to make his home debut for LA.
Knowing Snell is nearing a return, it'll be interesting to see how manager Dave Roberts manages this rotation, one that's undoubtedly one of, if not the best in all of baseball.
Snell will return on August 11
There are only a few days left before Snell will make his second start of the season, and the Kansas City Royals now know their fate.
Not only do they have to face Skubal in the series opener, but they're forced to go toe-to-toe with a guy who's proven himself plenty of times in previous years. Now, though, it's a matter of how good Snell looks in his first start back.
Keep in mind, this is a major three-plus month layoff for a guy who's getting up there in age. That's not to say Snell is going to retire anytime soon, far from it, especially knowing he's under contract through 2029 with an option in 2030.
Dodgers must keep Snell healthy
Obviously, this is a guy who started the season on the injured list due to left shoulder fatigue. His first start against the Braves did not go according to plan, so it's not out of the ordinary to think Roberts and Co. will slowly ease him back into action.
Whether that's three innings of work in 77 pitches remains to be seen, but they'd love a much more efficient outing than his only other one this season. Everything seems to be back to usual for the Washington native; it's just a matter of stringing a few quality starts together as October will be here before this team knows it.
Seeing as Skubal's next start has been moved up to Monday and Snell will take the mound on Tuesday, it'll be interesting to see if Eric Lauer will still start the series finale.
