One start. That’s all the Dodgers got out of Blake Snell in 2026 before the elbow took him out.
Snell underwent surgery Tuesday to remove loose bodies from his left elbow. The Dodgers used the NanoScope procedure, the same minimally invasive technique that has become standard for cleanup operations on pitchers’ elbows. Doctors removed three bone spurs. There is no immediate timeline for his return.
This is the third time in the last 12 months Snell has been a focal point of injury news for the Dodgers. He started the 2026 season on the 15-day IL with fatigue in his left shoulder, which also sidelined him for four months last season. He made his season debut on May 8 against the Athletics, gave up five runs on six hits and two walks in his return, and then reported “something in the back of his elbow” while playing catch leading into his planned second start.
For the price tag, this is brutal. The Dodgers signed Snell to a five-year, $182 million contract before the 2025 season expecting front-of-the-rotation production. So far they have gotten 11 starts across two seasons. That math is not great.
The medical optimism is that the NanoScope procedure has a faster recovery window than traditional elbow surgery. The Dodgers considered the NanoNeedle Scope procedure, which is what Tarik Skubal recently underwent in Detroit, but ultimately went with the NanoScope. Skubal is expected to return in roughly six weeks after his procedure, so the comparison is at least encouraging.
Snell also has history on his side. He had this exact procedure back in July 2019 when he was with the Rays and returned to big league action about two months later. If 2026 follows that template, he could be back on a mound in late July with hopes of contributing down the stretch.
The Dodgers have built the deepest rotation in baseball precisely because they know guys break down. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is healthy. Tyler Glasnow is healthy. They have rotation depth that almost no other team can match. Losing Snell hurts but does not derail anything.
What it does do is make the Dodgers’ margin for error tighter than they would like. Snell was supposed to be one of the three rotation arms they would lean on in October. Now he’s a question mark and the Dodgers are going to have to figure out a new postseason plan.
Andrew Friedman has been here before. The Dodgers have a hospital wing for pitchers most years and still find a way to be playoff favorites. Losing your high-priced left-hander to elbow surgery after one start of his second season is still a punch in the gut, even for a team that can absorb almost any blow.
Snell, when healthy, is a Cy Young winner. He has the best curveball in baseball. He gives the Dodgers a different look than their other starters. If he gets back to anything near 100 percent by August, this becomes a footnote.
The big risk is if the elbow isn’t actually clean. Loose bodies are usually a minor surgery. But pitchers don’t get loose bodies for no reason, and the underlying mechanics that created the problem don’t always disappear when the bone spurs come out. That’s the thing the Dodgers will be watching closely the next few months.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
