{"id":318308,"date":"2026-05-16T03:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T03:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/318308\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T03:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T03:20:10","slug":"blake-snell-hits-il-due-to-loose-bodies-in-elbow-dodgers-undecided-on-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/318308\/","title":{"rendered":"Blake Snell hits IL due to loose bodies in elbow; Dodgers undecided on surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 After he made just one start this season, the Los Angeles Dodgers will again be without left-hander Blake Snell for a significant period of time.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers placed Snell on the injured list before his scheduled start on Friday against the Los Angeles Angels due to loose bodies in his left elbow. Snell and the Dodgers are still determining if surgery will be necessary, though manager Dave Roberts expressed optimism Snell would pitch again this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, anything is on the table,\u201d Roberts said pregame. \u201cObviously, we had the test to determine there were loose bodies. We\u2019re still talking through what\u2019s next. I think at the end of the day, we feel confident that he\u2019s going to be back with us this year, either path. But right now, no definitive decision has been made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Snell was slated to make his second start of the season after missing the first six weeks rehabbing from shoulder inflammation that dated back to last season. He logged three innings on Saturday against the Atlanta Braves, but threw 77 pitches and allowed five runs (four earned). Snell was originally scheduled to make his fourth rehab start that Saturday, but the Dodgers elected to start him on a pitch limit when Tyler Glasnow landed on the 15-day injured list<\/a> with back spasms.<\/p>\n

Snell threw a standard bullpen after his start, but felt something was not right in the back of his elbow during catch play at Dodger Stadium on Thursday. The Dodgers decided to scratch him shortly after.<\/p>\n

Loose bodies usually \u2014 but not always \u2014 require surgery. Snell underwent surgery for loose bodies in 2019 while with the Tampa Bay Rays and missed nearly two months from mid-July to mid-September.<\/p>\n

Should Snell elect surgery, a new surgical tool could be an option to help expedite the timeline. Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who was diagnosed with loose bodies earlier in the month, underwent a new operation using the NanoNeedle Scope<\/a>, hoping to accelerate his timeline back to play. Skubal was the first MLB player to undergo the operation by surgeon Neal ElAttrache, who is also the Dodgers\u2019 head team physician. Skubal and Snell are both represented by Scott Boras.<\/p>\n

If the 33-year-old elects not to undergo surgery, Snell would likely take a cortisone shot to address inflammation and be shut down from throwing for multiple weeks. He is the second Dodger in the last month to be diagnosed with loose bodies in his throwing arm \u2014 closer Edwin D\u00edaz underwent surgery in April and isn\u2019t expected to rejoin the team until the second half of the season.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers will now try to keep the rest of their rotation on some sort of routine. Los Angeles had prioritized a six-man rotation, partly in an effort to keep Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto rested. With Glasnow unlikely to return off the IL when eligible, that plan has become more complicated \u2014 though the schedule does give the club some breathing room.<\/p>\n

Thanks to an off day Thursday, the Dodgers can remain on turn through their next spin through the rotation. After that, their next stretch of at least six games in a row does not start until May 29. The Dodgers believe Glasnow won\u2019t miss much more than a couple of weeks, but his timetable depends on when he can resume throwing off a mound. As of Friday, Glasnow had only thrown off flat ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re prepared to do whatever we can,\u201d Roberts said about the rotation. \u201cThe 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\u2019re prepared to do whatever it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Los Angeles can get creative with its bullpen and use a bulk reliever for a spot start. That\u2019s what the club elected to do Friday with right-hander Will Klein getting the spot start and Kyle Hurt available for length behind him, though that was more of a necessity. Charlie Barnes, the corresponding move for Snell, is available in relief.<\/p>\n

River Ryan, who was scheduled to throw four innings in his first start Friday for Triple-A Oklahoma City, could also be an option for the rotation once he is built back up. Ryan touched 100.9 mph in his first inning back since undergoing a hamstring injury in mid-April. Roberts downplayed the likelihood of the organization rushing Ryan up to the big leagues.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a possibility, but it\u2019s a slim possibility,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cThe most important thing is his progression. If everyone isn\u2019t on board with that and speeding it up, then it\u2019s moot. It\u2019s not going to happen. It\u2019s a non-starter. But if the training staff feels that it\u2019s okay and you\u2019re not compromising him and the progression, then it\u2019s a conversation. But I don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dodgers also saw a setback with reliever Brusdar Graterol, who was pulled off his rehab assignment with Oklahoma City. He is set to undergo imaging on his back, with one league source describing the situation as \u201cnot good.\u201d The Dodgers will await further clarity after the imaging results, but the initial expectation is that Graterol will be sidelined for a large chunk of time.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Fabian Ardaya contributed to this article<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 After he made just one start this season, the Los Angeles Dodgers will again be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":318309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,53,1334],"class_list":["post-318308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-mlb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/318309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}