The Dodgers are placing left-hander Blake Snell back on the injured list, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Lefty Charlie Barnes is being recalled in a corresponding move, according to Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times. Snell, whose placement is backdated to May 12th, reportedly has “loose bodies” in his throwing elbow.
Snell was only just activated from the injured list on May 9th, so this unfortunately makes for a quick return. He had missed the first month of the season with left shoulder fatigue. Snell then made two rehab starts at Single-A and one final start at Triple-A, in which he lasted four innings. The Dodgers somewhat surprisingly activated Snell despite previously wanting him to be stretched out to five innings in his rehab stint. In the end, Snell only made one start in the Majors before landing back on the injured list, and it didn’t go particularly well, with Snell allowing five runs (four earned) in three innings on the 9th.
According to manager Dave Roberts, Snell felt something “in the back of” his left elbow during a game of catch yesterday (link via Ardaya). That led to the discovery of the loose bodies. Ardaya adds that there is no set plan right now as to whether Snell will require surgery. Notably, Snell underwent arthroscopic surgery in July 2019 to remove loose bodies from the same elbow, and he ended up missing six weeks. Thus, while this isn’t a re-aggravation of Snell’s shoulder injury, the mention of loose bodies in his elbow is equally troubling. A precise timeline will hopefully be known in the next few days, but the expectation is that Snell will return before the end of the season, according to Alden González of MLB.com and others.
More to come.
