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The Los Angeles Dodgers got good news on Blake Snell, who returned to the mound.
After an offseason of generally discouraging updates, the Los Angeles Dodgers finally got good news on left-hander Blake Snell, who has been slowed by shoulder issues, as an Opening Day matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks approaches.
The $182 million man threw off a mound on Monday, March 9, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reported. It’s the next step for Snell in a lengthy offseason process that has seen him built up slowly heading into the 2026 season.
*Blake Snell taking next steps in progression threw off the mound yesterday with catcher standing up. #Dodgers
The expensive lefty hit the injured list in early April with shoulder inflammation. He missed nearly four months of action. Snell made a career-low 11 starts in the first season of a five-year deal. He’s not expected to be ready for the upcoming campaign.
Los Angeles Dodgers Receive Positive Update on Blake Snell
The 33-year-old Snell was dominant once he returned from the shoulder injury last year. He delivered a pristine 2.41 ERA with a 32.7% strikeout rate over nine outings to close the regular season. Snell continued the solid production in the playoffs. He cruised through seven innings of two-run ball with nine strikeouts against the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card round. The veteran lefty held the Philadelphia Phillies scoreless in Game 2 of the NLDS. Snell notched another scoreless outing in the NLCS, keeping the Milwaukee Brewers off the board for eight frames in Game 1.
The World Series didn’t go as smoothly for Snell. The Toronto Blue Jays tagged him for five earned runs in Game 1 of the series. He was pitching well through five frames, but the Blue Jays exploded for nine runs in the 6th inning. Snell departed with the bases loaded and no outs, and all of those runners came around to score. The left-hander once again allowed five earned runs in Game 5. Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got him for solo homers in the 1st inning. Snell settled in from there, but tired in the 7th inning, allowing a tight deficit to get out of hand.
Snell earned a bit of redemption in Game 7 of the World Series. He entered after a leadoff double in the 8th inning and stranded the runner. Snell created a bases-loaded jam in the 9th inning, but Yoshinobu Yamamoto was able to wiggle out of it.
Who Will Be in the Dodgers’ Rotation?
Snell’s slow build-up this spring will open the door for at least one new member of the rotation. Roki Sasaki is expected to return to a starting role after closing last season in the bullpen. The NPB import struggled mightily to begin the year, then went down with a shoulder injury. Sasaki came back as a reliever and became a crucial member of the postseason bullpen.
Gavin Stone seemed ticketed for a rotation spot, but a setback with his shoulder injury likely removes him from consideration. Stone’s struggles to get healthy should solidify the spot for Emmet Sheehan. The young right-hander recorded a 2.82 ERA across 15 appearances last year, with 12 of those outings coming as a starter. Yamamoto will headline the rotation, followed by Tyker Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani.
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