The Los Angeles Dodgers are finally seeing daylight in their long-challenged rotation. After months of injuries and uncertainty, manager Dave Roberts delivered promising news: Blake Snell is inching closer to his return.
Snell, the 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner, has been sidelined since April 2, logging just nine innings over two starts. But during a recent bullpen session, he threw more than 20 pitches and showcased his breaking ball — a key sign of progress.
Blake Snell Nears Return as Los Angeles Dodgers Rotation Begins to Reassemble
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“He’s getting closer than he was,” Roberts told reporters. “He threw some breaking yesterday, which is really good to see… I’m sure he’s getting closer. I don’t know the date. Given what I saw yesterday, he’s getting closer.”
The Dodgers are tentatively targeting early July for Snell’s return, a timeline that aligns with the recovery schedules for Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki. Glasnow also faced live batters this week, while Shohei Ohtani recently made his pitching debut for Los Angeles.
In the meantime, Yoshinobu Yamamoto continues to anchor the rotation, emerging as a National League Cy Young frontrunner and keeping the Dodgers afloat amid a patchwork staff. Ohtani’s return adds another elite weapon, and the eventual healthy reintegration of Snell, Glasnow, and Sasaki would give Los Angeles one of the most imposing rotations in baseball.
The defending World Series champions remain focused despite pressure from divisional rivals like the San Francisco Giants, who recently made a splashy move of their own. Still, Roberts and his players aren’t leaning on last year’s success.
“No hangover,” Roberts said earlier this month. “We’re chasing another one.”
Getting Blake Snell back may be a pivotal step toward that goal. If he’s back to form, no one will want to face the Dodgers in October.