ANAHEIM — Blake Snell made just 11 regular-season starts in the first year of his five-year, $182 million contract with the Dodgers due to persistent shoulder problems. But he did pitch in the postseason.
His second year could be a repeat, this time due to elbow problems.
Snell was scratched from his scheduled start Friday after he felt pain the back of his elbow while playing catch Thursday. An examination revealed loose bodies in the elbow and he was placed on the injured list.
Snell made just one start after spending the first six weeks of this season on the IL with the remnants of last year’s shoulder issue. He allowed five runs in three innings against the Atlanta Braves last weekend, cutting short his rehab assignment when Tyler Glasnow went on the IL with back pain.
Closer Edwin Diaz had surgery on his elbow to remove loose bodies on April 22 and is expected to miss two to three months. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said no decision has been made on whether Snell will have surgery.
“I think right now anything is on the table,” Roberts said. “We’re still talking through what’s next. I think at the end of the day we feel confident that he’s going to be back with us this year. Either path (surgery or no surgery). But right now no definitive decision has been made.”
A non-surgical route would involve pain-killing injections and anti-inflammatory treatments. That would also require months of downtime. Snell had surgery in 2019 to remove loose bodies from his elbow and missed two months.
Even with Snell and Glasnow unavailable, Roberts said the Dodgers would like to keep their starting rotation on its current schedule, giving each of their active starters at least five days off between starts. However, they currently have just five healthy starters for a six-man rotation. Reliever Will Klein opened a bullpen game against the Angels on Friday.
“Right now, I don’t know if we have six candidates (for the rotation),” Roberts said.
“I think we’re prepared to do whatever we can. But I will say the most important thing is to keep the guys on their schedules, not try to push too much because of circumstances with the rotation because then you start to compromise their health. So whether we backfill somehow or do bullpen days, we’re prepared to do whatever it takes.”
Going into the season, the Dodgers thought they had depth in Gavin Stone and River Ryan. But Stone experienced a setback in his recovery from shoulder surgery and is on a throwing program in Arizona.
Ryan is returning from Tommy John surgery and pitched very well in spring training, but he made just two starts at Triple-A for a total of seven innings before going on the IL for a month with a hamstring injury. He was scheduled to return Friday night for Oklahoma City.
Roberts characterized Ryan joining the Dodgers’ rotation at this point as “a possibility but it’s a slim possibility” until he builds up more.
“The most important thing is his progression,” Roberts said. “If everyone isn’t on board with that and speeding it up, then it’s moot. It’s not going to happen. It’s a non-starter. But if the training staff feels that it’s okay and you’re not compromising him and the progression, then it’s a conversation. But I don’t know yet.”
Snell’s injury will not affect the timeline for Glasnow’s return, Roberts said. Glasnow just began a flat-ground throwing program on Wednesday and will have to progress to throwing off a mound and facing hitters either in simulated games or on a rehab assignment before he would be ready to return.
“It seems like every year we go through it,” Roberts said. “What I have learned is we get through it. It doesn’t feel great when you’re in it.
“In baseball it happens all the time with pitching. So here we are.”
REST DAY
After giving Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts the day off on Thursday, Freddie Freeman was not in the starting lineup for Friday’s game against the Angels.
“Just in the middle of 13 in a row, I felt this was a good day to kind of sit and watch a ballgame,” Roberts said. “He’s been doing great. He’s trended in the right direction the last couple weeks. But I still feel that it’s still the right thing to give him a day.”
Freeman hit .298 with an .824 OPS in the first 13 games this month. He is notoriously unwilling to take days off so Roberts let him know his plan via text earlier this week.
“He did want to revisit it last night and try to make his case. But I remained firm,” Roberts said with a smile. “He was even during the ninth inning last night trying to convince me he could play tonight’s game. It’s been front of his mind but I still think it’s the right decision.”
Freeman missed 15 games each of the past two seasons. Before that, he had missed a total of just 11 games in the previous six seasons.
UP NEXT
Dodgers (LHP Justin Wrobleski, 5-1, 2.42 ERA) at Angels (RHP Jose Soriano, 6-2, 1.66 ERA), Saturday, 6:38 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM