The Dodgers signed Blake Snell to a five-year, $182 million contract last winter to anchor their rotation. They have gotten three innings out of him in 2026.
Snell will undergo surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow on Tuesday, the team announced. It comes one start into his season, after he gave up four earned runs in three innings against the Braves on May 9 in what was supposed to be his long-awaited debut.
One start. Six hits and two walks allowed. Now he’s on the operating table.
This is the Dodgers’ nightmare scenario playing out in slow motion.
The Surgery and Timeline
The good news, if there is any in this situation, is that the procedure is on the less invasive end of the elbow surgery spectrum. Manager Dave Roberts said the team is considering a NanoNeedle Scope procedure, the same one Tarik Skubal had earlier this month.
Skubal was back to playing catch within a week. He threw a bullpen session less than two weeks after surgery. If Snell follows a similar path, he could be back on a mound in late June and back in a rotation sometime in July.
The Dodgers are hopeful he pitches again this season. There is no immediate timeline, but the framework exists. Snell himself has been through this. He had the same surgery in 2019 when he was with the Rays and was back in the big leagues two months later.
What This Means for the Dodgers’ Rotation
Los Angeles is the favorite to win the World Series almost regardless of what happens with any one pitcher. They have Shohei Ohtani returning to the mound. They have Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They have Tyler Glasnow. They have depth at the back of the rotation that most teams would envy.
What they don’t have is the certainty they thought they were buying when they signed Snell. The contract has now produced one start in 2026. Combined with his uneven first season in Los Angeles, the deal is starting to look like a problem.
If Snell returns this summer and pitches like the version that won a Cy Young with the Padres in 2023, the contract still makes sense in the long run. If he comes back with a diminished arsenal or hits the IL again, the Dodgers will be staring at a roster decision they hoped to avoid.
The Bigger Pitching Problem
The Dodgers’ rotation has been a revolving door of injuries for two straight seasons. Last year they won the World Series basically by accident with a bullpen game plan in October. The front office spent the offseason trying to fix the issue.
Snell was a piece of that fix. So was retaining Glasnow on his extension. So was the bet on Ohtani returning to pitching duty. The depth was supposed to ensure that no single injury could derail the season.
The plan is working insofar as the Dodgers are still in first place. But the rotation is going to look thin again at some point this summer when the workload starts to catch up with everyone they’re leaning on.
What Snell Should Do
Take the surgery. Take the rehab. Come back when he’s actually ready instead of when the calendar says he should be back. The Dodgers do not need him in June. They need him in October.
That should be the goal. Pitch a handful of regular-season starts in August and September to build up. Hit the playoffs sharp. Justify the contract on the biggest stage. That’s still very much on the table if the rehab goes well.
For now, this is a setback in a long line of setbacks for a pitcher who has spent his career fighting his own body. The Dodgers will keep winning while he heals. He just has to make sure he’s back when it matters.
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.
