Blake Snell Sent Back to IL as Dodgers Vs Angels Loom

Blake Snell is going back on the injured list, and dodgers vs angels now carries a sharper rotation problem for Los Angeles. The Dodgers are backdating the move to May 12 after he reported elbow discomfort.

Snell had just returned on May 9, then made one start before the setback hit again. He allowed five runs, four earned, in three innings against the Braves, and the Dodgers are recalling Charlie Barnes in the corresponding move.

Snell’s elbow flared again

Dave Roberts said Snell felt something in the back of his left elbow during a game of catch yesterday. The issue is loose bodies in his throwing elbow, the same elbow that required arthroscopic surgery in July 2019, when he missed six weeks after the procedure.

That history makes the roster move harder to absorb. Snell had already missed the first month of the season with left shoulder fatigue, then worked through two rehab starts at Single-A and one final rehab start at Triple-A before returning.

Dodgers rotation gets thinner

The Dodgers activated Snell before he had reached the five innings they wanted in rehab, and he lasted four innings in that Triple-A start. He was back in the majors for only one outing before landing back on the injured list.

With Tyler Glasnow on the injured list a week ago because of lower back spasms, the rotation is now a five-man group of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Emmet Sheehan, Justin Wrobleski, and Roki Sasaki. Sasaki has a 5.88 ERA through 33 2/3 innings, and the Dodgers had been using a six-man rotation to protect their starters.

Roberts said there is no set plan yet on whether Snell will need surgery, but the expectation is that he will return before the end of the season. For now, the Dodgers have to cover the innings without a starter they had just activated, and Barnes gives them another arm while the rotation waits for healthier days.