Sure, we’re simply away from the Major League Baseball trade deadline, however essentially the most important Dodgers transaction in current days wasn’t a swap with one other workforce. Fairly, it was the Saturday activation of lefty ace and two-time Cy Younger winner Blake Snell.
The 32-year-old Snell, whom the Dodgers inked to a $136.96 million free-agent contract this previous offseason, had been sidelined since April 2 with shoulder irritation. The damage occurred simply two begins into his Dodgers profession. On-paper rotation depth may be very a lot a current Dodgers trait, however so are rotation accidents. The latter has been the case for a lot of 2025, however Snell’s return represents a little bit of a high-water mark for the Dodgers, who now have six wholesome starters. Sure, Roki Sasaki and Tony Gonsolin are nonetheless laid up, however most different notables are wholesome. That now consists of Snell, who provides the Nationwide League West leaders one other true frontline presence. This is what rotation seems to be like proper about now:
- Yoshinnobu Yamamoto, RHP
- Blake Snell, LHP
- Tyler Glasnow, RHP
- Shohei Ohtani, RHP
- Clayton Kershaw, LHP
- Emmet Sheehan, RHP
That is one of the best the L.A. rotation has seemed in a while, at the least when it comes to well being and availability.
As for Snell, he was dominant throughout his not too long ago accomplished minor-league rehab task, and that set the scene for his Saturday begin in opposition to the Rays at Steinbrenner Subject in Tampa. This is Snell’s line within the eventual 4-0 Dodgers loss:
Other than permitting a pair of house runs to Yandy Díaz, who now has 20 on the season, Snell offered some positives in his first begin in 4 months. To wit:
- Snell did not stroll any batters even after going through big-league hitters for the primary time in such a protracted whereas (he is often susceptible to regulate issues).
- He confirmed good velocity along with his fastball (95.2 mph common velo versus a 94.8 mph determine in his first two begins of 2025).
- He struck out a powerful 40% of the batters he confronted on Saturday.
- In simply these 5 innings, Snell obtained 19 swings and misses, together with 5 whiffs on 5 swings in opposition to his slider. He additionally obtained seven whiffs on 12 swings in opposition to his changeup.
- It is the primary time he is struck out eight or extra batters and not using a stroll since July 14 of final 12 months, when he was with the Giants.
His ERA for the season rose from 2.00 to three.21, however he confirmed drastically higher command and management than he did in these first two begins. Coming into Saturday’s return, Snell on the season had eight unintentional walks in opposition to 4 strikeouts in 9 innings. These three runs allowed however, this was far more like classic Snell. Listed below are the related transferring photos:
The loss trimmed the Dodgers’ lead within the division to 2 ½ video games over the Padres, who had a headline-grabbing commerce deadline that raised their profile transferring ahead.
In keeping with the parents at BetMGM, the Dodgers (+250) are nonetheless favored to win the World Collection, adopted by the Phillies (+800), Yankees (+850) and Tigers (+875). The Padres are at +2000.
Snell’s return — and return to dominance — is essential for the Dodgers as they try and win the division for the twelfth time within the final 13 years and repeat as World Collection champions when October comes rolling round.