The two-time Cy Young winner is headed for elbow surgery after just one start this season, adding to a mounting Dodgers injured list.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are down yet another player on their roster as pitcher Blake Snell is scheduled now for elbow surgery this upcoming Tuesday to remove “loose bodies” from his left elbow. That will put the lefty out for a while, but the Dodgers are optimistic that their two-time Cy Young Award winner will make a quick recovery, enough to return this season. He was scratched from Friday’s scheduled start against the Los Angeles Angels.
The loose bodies were discovered on Thursday via and MRI and scans, and this procedure should hopefully carry a faster timeline for recovery. Manager Dave Roberts pointed to Tarik Skubal’s recent procedure on May 6 that was minimally invasive as a comparable model for Snell, and that surgery saw Skubal back playing catch and soft tossing in just a little over a week.
It’s disappointing, as Snell already missed most of the 2025 regular season campaign due to a shoulder injury, limiting Snell to just 11 starts. He did make six postseason appearances and went 3-2 in the playoffs amid the Dodgers quest that captured their second consecutive World Series title. He had just made his season debut last weekend, unfortunately giving up four earned runs in three innings after having to miss the start of the year with shoulder fatigue and inflammation issues.
To read more about the unfortunate update to a thinning lineup, here is the full story from Dodgers Roundtable writer Adrian Medina.
He joins a concerningly long IL list, as closer Edwin Diaz had surgery to remove similar loose bodies on his right elbow back in April, while starter Tyler Glasgow is on IL with back spasms, leaving some serious questions of rotation and bullpen depth while Snell is out.