LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers found some relief when it came to one of their starters and it did not come from the bullpen.
Left-hander Blake Snell underwent a new MRI this week after experiencing a setback with his left shoulder injury and the results were of the best-case-scenario variety.
Snell remains out indefinitely with what is still being considered inflammation, but the club has returned to visions of the two-time Cy Young Award winner pitching again in the near future.
“He had an MRI yesterday morning and there are no new findings,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So at some point, I think he will get an injection to kind of calm it down and they will figure out when we pick up the throwing program. But given the findings of the MRI, we dodged a bullet.”
That throwing program was shut down Wednesday after Snell felt additional discomfort while playing catch Tuesday in Chicago.
Added in the offseason on a five-year, $182-million deal, Snell made his Dodgers debut in the home opener on March 27 when he allowed two runs on five hits in five innings against the Detroit Tigers and sent the first hint that something might be off when he walked four.
Snell started again on April 2 at home against the Atlanta Braves and gave up five runs in five innings but none of the runs were earned. Again, Snell walked four batters.
The Dodgers already were set to mix in a sixth starter on occasion to make sure starters like Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki stay on a schedule of one start a week. Without Snell, they have been forced to get creative, using starters like Justin Wrobleski, Landon Knack and Bobby Miller, none of whom have shown effectiveness.
Roberts even turned to a bullpen game in Chicago this week, in a strategy that played a massive role in getting through the playoffs last season, but the setup was nowhere near good enough.
The Dodgers do have Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin nearing their season debuts. Snell might be a little further away, along with Shohei Ohtani, who continues to rehab following his second Tommy John surgery in 2023.
“I don’t know the extent of the length of time, but just knowing that there is no damage is certainly a big relief,” Roberts said when asked to confirm that Snell’s absence will not be long term.
In 10 career seasons, Snell is 77-58 with a 3.18 ERA in 213 starts for the Tampa Bay Rays (2016-20), San Diego Padres (2021-23), San Francisco Giants (2024) and Dodgers.
ON THE WAY
Right-handed reliever Michael Kopech threw a 30-pitch bullpen session during Thursday’s off day, will have another one Monday and might progress to the next stage of his rehab next week.
Roberts said Kopech could move to pitching live batting practice after Monday’s bullpen. A minor-league rehab assignment would follow that step.
Kopech has yet to pitch this season because of forearm inflammation that he pitched through during the postseason last year. His recovery was derailed this spring with the stomach virus that forced players like Mookie Betts and Kiké Hernandez to miss time and he had to restart the entire recovery program.
“I wasn’t wanting to miss any time this year but the priority for me was the end of the season last year and the end of the season this year,” Kopech said about pitching through discomfort in October.
After he was acquired by the Dodgers at the trade deadline, Kopech went 4-0 with a 1.13 ERA and six saves in 24 relief appearances. In 10 postseason relief outings, Kopech was 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in nine innings.
ALSO
Right-hander Blake Treinen (forearm sprain) has yet to start a light throwing program after landing on the injured list last Saturday. … Ohtani skipped his regular bullpen session Wednesday with the team in the cold climate of Chicago, and his next bullpen scheduled for Saturday. … The Dodgers claimed right-hander Yoendrys Gomez off waivers from the New York Yankees. The 25-year-old Venezuela native was 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in six relief appearances this season and has a 3.09 ERA in 12 appearances for New York over the past three seasons.
UP NEXT
Pirates (RHP Mitch Keller, 1-2, 4.18 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Roki Sasaki, 0-1, 3.20 ERA), Saturday, 6:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM