Dodgers Manager Hopeful Blake Snell Will Return Soon After Injuring Himself Before Start

Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell exited after a 19-pitch first inning against the Reds on Wednesday, citing a tweak he felt in his second-to-last pitch in the bullpen before his outing.

Manager Dave Roberts is optimistic about the star’s return. “I’m very hopeful that he’ll make a start before the end of the season,” Roberts said.

Snell, who has started only eight games this year, has posted a solid 1.86 ERA in those starts, but this setback continues his injury-interrupted season. Snell’s shoulder and elbow issues this year have already been a big problem. Shoulder inflammation kept him out early in the season, and then he needed elbow surgery, which kept him out until August.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner says this time it’s his groin that bothered him, where he felt tightness during his pre-game warm-up. “I felt good all day, and then the second-to-last pitch of the bullpen, I threw a slider, and then I felt it grab.”

The Dodgers have dealt with a lot of injuries to their star players. Their main man, Shohei Ohtani, found himself on the IL earlier in September. Roki Sasaki, another Los Angeles starter, injured himself in August and has been out since.

This is nothing new for the Dodgers, who have dealt with these injuries over the last few seasons. The good news for Dodgers fans is that they are turning around a ship that looked quite shaky midseason, even when they were healthy. The Dodgers have been on a good run and are 7-3 in their last 10 games.

The defending champs should have Ohtani and Sasaki back for the playoffs, but Snell’s groin issue is a big unknown right now in terms of how long he will be out.

There is plenty of skill left in the Dodgers starting rotation even with Snell, Ohtani, and Sasaki out, but of the three, Snell is easily the largest loss when it comes to the pitcher’s mound.