CHICAGO -- The Dodgers are looking at a bit of a longer timeline to get one of their big offseason additions back.
Plans for left-hander Blake Snell to throw his next bullpen session – expected to happen Wednesday at Wrigley Field – were scrapped for the time being, manager Dave Roberts revealed prior to the 7-6 loss to the Cubs.
Roberts said Snell, who has been on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation, didn’t feel great after playing catch Tuesday. Snell underwent another MRI on Thursday that showed "no new findings," per Roberts. The 32-year-old southpaw will likely get an injection in his shoulder before resuming a throwing program.
With the latest findings, Roberts remains optimistic that Snell's injury will still be a relatively short-term issue.
"I don’t know … the extent of the length of time," Roberts said Friday, "but just knowing that there is no damage is certainly a big relief."
Snell has been on the shelf since April 6 (retroactive to April 3) with the shoulder ailment. He had been throwing a bullpen session and felt soreness in his shoulder. Snell later had an MRI that showed the inflammation but otherwise came back clean, still warranting a stint on the IL.
Snell threw his first bullpen session Saturday, and there was some hope that he wouldn’t need to go out on a rehab assignment. However, this setback could push things back to the point where one or more rehab starts are necessary.
The Dodgers had initially hoped that Snell would only need rest to feel better, but Roberts said Wednesday that treatment like a cortisone injection was not off the table.
Roberts wasn’t sure Wednesday if Snell had received a cortisone injection or anything similar, but treatment like that isn’t off the table.
“I would say that whatever we can [do] to kind of get the feeling, the sensation, the uncomfort to dissipate, I think we would be open to -- with, obviously, his agreeing to [it],” Roberts said. “So I think right now, when we get back, get our doctors on him, take a couple days without throwing, see where we're at. We'll know more then.”
The Dodgers signed Snell to a five-year, $182 million contract in November. In two starts with Los Angeles, the two-time Cy Young Award winner has posted a 2.00 ERA, but he hasn’t pitched since April 2.
That has helped create a shortage of healthy starters. As of Wednesday night, only right-handers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and Dustin May were on the active roster.
Roberts has been encouraged by the work those four have done. May was tagged for seven runs in five innings Tuesday, but he entered that game with a 1.06 ERA in three starts -- and that was after not pitching from mid-May 2023 through the ‘24 season because of a second Tommy John surgery and a torn esophagus.
Yamamoto, who could potentially face off against Pirates phenom Paul Skenes on Friday, leads all qualified National League pitchers with a 0.93 ERA. Glasnow holds a 3.71 ERA, and Sasaki is at 3.20.
Still, the lack of healthy arms forced the Dodgers into a bullpen game Wednesday.
Right-hander Ben Casparius and southpaw Anthony Banda held Chicago scoreless for 3 1/3 innings, but then fellow relievers Noah Davis and Jack Dreyer got tagged for seven runs in just 1 2/3 frames. Right fielder Teoscar Hernández and center fielder Andy Pages homered, but it wasn’t enough to offset what the relievers allowed.
A bullpen day might not be necessary the next time around, since Los Angeles could get at least one reinforcement soon.
Right-hander Tony Gonsolin threw 79 pitches across five-plus innings Wednesday with Triple-A Oklahoma City. As that was Gonsolin’s fourth rehab start, Roberts noted he could be ready to return next week.
A little further away is lefty Clayton Kershaw, who’s on the 60-day IL due to left toe and left knee surgeries. He made his second rehab start Tuesday, throwing 60 pitches across three-plus innings.
Roberts said the feedback was that Kershaw came out of it well and his velocity was in a good spot. The toe could still be an issue -- Roberts said it’s “probably going to be something he's going to have to deal with, and it's not going to be pain-free” -- but his recovery is going in the right direction.
Kershaw is set for another outing next week, Roberts said, but he also isn’t eligible to come off the IL until mid-May. So he won’t be a part of the rotation reinforcements.
But whether it’s Gonsolin or Snell in the near future, the Dodgers hope more bullpen games aren’t needed moving forward.