With Blake Snell prepped for surgery on his elbow, what's the outlook for the Los Angeles Dodgers' rotation?
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been through the wringer with pitching injuries, most notably affecting their starting rotation. The latest arm to be bitten by the injury bug is two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.
In a surprising development, just before his second start scheduled against the Los Angeles Angels on May 15, Snell was scratched from his appearance.
The Dodgers later announced that Snell would return to the Injured List with loose bodies in his throwing elbow.
Snell, who missed the first six weeks of the season due to shoulder fatigue, worked plentifully after he returned to the Dodgers. Three rehab starts later, Snell found himself making his season debut on May 9 against the Atlanta Braves.
Even with a not-so-pretty stat sheet when all was said and done, Snell came out of his season debut hopeful he could build on his performance moving forward.
“I am ready to go. There is no excuse. I feel good. The stuff is good, so I just got to become a better pitcher and do that quickly," Snell said following his season debut. "I have a lot of confidence that I’ll do that. I really like where I am at, so for me to get called up, I feel really good, and I wanted that start.”
May 9, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (7) talks with manager Dave Roberts (30) in the dugout in the fourth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium. -- © Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Unfortunately, Snell will have to wait a little while longer.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was optimistic that an option of a non-surgical path was on the table. On Saturday, Roberts leaned back and said that Snell will undergo surgery to remove those loose bodies.
"He's going to get surgery on Tuesday," Roberts said.
Roberts continued by saying that the surgery Snell will undergo is supposed to be a quicker recovery and states that the Dodgers are "encouraged by that."
Dr. Neal ElAttrache will be performing the arthroscopic procedure on Snell. It's the same procedure that Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal underwent. It showed quick results with Skubal lightly throwing just two weeks post-surgery.
Dodgers' Future Starting Rotation Outlook?
Moving forward, the Dodgers' starting rotation will operate with five pitchers. Roberts was uncertain if a six-man rotation is still on the table. Why? Because there are no other starting arms.
"I don’t know if we have six candidates," Roberts said. With the recent development of Snell landing on the Injured List for the foreseeable future, there is no rush in building up the already injured starting arms.
Tyler Glasnow landed on the Injured List on May 8 with lower back spasms following a premature removal from his start against the Houston Astros.
Glasnow's buildup will be handled carefully, and the fall of Snell will not tamper with the 6-foot-8 right-hander's recovery.
Glasnow began throwing flatground earlier in the week, but it will take a while for him to start throwing off a mound and eventually, throwing to live hitters.
On the other hand, another arm is ramping up his buildup for a return is River Ryan.
Ryan is coming off making his first rehab start on Saturday with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets.
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