The Los Angeles Dodgers are running a taxing six-man rotation with five pitchers and a bullpen covering every sixth game, but they are intent on being patient with injured pitcher Blake Snell.
Snell is currently on a rehabilitation assignment down in the minor leagues as he comes back from elbow surgery.
The southpaw was on the injured list to start the year, got activated following a rehab assignment that was cut short because the rotation was hit with injuries, and then he got shut down again after just one start for elbow surgery.
In his left elbow, Snell was found to have loose bodies, meaning parts of his arm’s bone had broken off and were causing pain, something quite common for pitchers.
The surgery to remove loose bodies tends to take around 3 months to recover from, but Snell, thanks to an innovative procedure called the “NanoNeedle,” has started pitching competitively after two months, and he is very close to pitching in the big leagues again.
After pitching in Ontario on Wednesday, manager Dave Roberts said the team would “read and react” to how Snell felt before deciding whether to activate him after what was his third minor league start or have him keep building up with another rehab appearance.
According to Snell himself, the Dodgers opted to have him take another precautionary rehab start before coming back, and he did not fight it.
When will Blake Snell come back?
Snell will pitch on Tuesday, August 4th, marking what should be his last rehab start before coming back, per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register.
When asked about when Snell would pitch, Roberts did not say a firm date, simply stating it would be during the middle of the week, whether Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
After that, he is set to be activated the following week, likely during their homestand that starts on August 10th against the Kansas City Royals.
So far against minor league pitching, Snell looks elite, better than he did even in the postseason, where he was a key piece.
Hopefully, with health issues behind him, he can get back on the field regularly and show his elite stuff as a starter.
