The Dodgers have activated Blake Snell from the 60-day injured list, the team announced this morning. The two-time Cy Young winner signed a five-year, $182MM contract with L.A. in the offseason but landed on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation after just two starts with his new team. As expected, he will start this afternoon against the Rays. Right-hander Paul Gervase, whom the Dodgers acquired as part of the three-team trade that sent Zack Littell to the Reds, has been optioned to the minor leagues. MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports that the Dodgers will make room for Snell on the 40-man roster by designating fellow left-hander Zach Penrod for assignment.
When healthy, Snell is one of the most fearsome pitchers in the game. While injuries limited him to just 20 starts last year in his lone season with the Giants, the southpaw produced a 3.12 ERA and 3.16 SIERA in 104 innings of work. The Dodgers will hope he enjoys similar success upon his return in 2025, though it’s worth keeping in mind that neither of the injuries that sidelined Snell in 2024 (nor the injuries that sidelined him in 2022 or 2021) were arm injuries. On the bright side, he was utterly dominant in his four rehab starts, striking out 24 minor league batters in 13 2/3 innings of work and touching 97 on the radar gun.
Perhaps no team has suffered as many pitching injuries as the Dodgers this season, but no team entered the season equipped with more pitching depth, either. With Snell back in the mix, L.A.’s rotation is finally starting to look like the supergroup fans imagined it could be in the offseason. The two-time ERA leader joins Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Clayton Kershaw, and Emmet Sheehan in what will be a six-man rotation for the time being. Considering all six of those pitchers have dealt with injuries over the past 12 months, manager Dave Roberts’s decision to move to a six-man rotation is easy to understand.
The Dodgers are enjoying yet another strong season, but they have not been the unstoppable force many expected them to be. Injuries have been a big reason why. According to FanGraphs, they are the closest team to a lock to make the playoffs (99.4% playoff odds), but their division odds took a notable hit after on trade deadline day. San Diego made a huge splash, adding Mason Miller, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano, Nestor Cortes, Jorge Quintana, Freddy Fermin, and Will Wagner, while L.A. had a relatively quiet deadline, picking up Brock Stewart and Alex Call but parting with Dustin May. The Dodgers remain the clear frontrunners in the NL West and the favorites to win World Series, according to both the FanGraphs and PECOTA odds, but they are now relying on their many injured players to get healthy (and their many injury-prone players to stay healthy) more than ever.
The Dodgers acquired Penrod for cash consideration in June after the Red Sox designated him for assignment. The left-hander initially signed with the Rangers as an undrafted free agent in 2018, and went under the knife for Tommy John surgery the following year. He did not pitch in affiliated ball again until he signed a minor league pact with the Red Sox in August 2023.
Penrod made his MLB debut for Boston the following September, pitching four innings over seven games and giving up two runs (one earned). He struck out three and walked four. Unfortunately, a left elbow sprain kept him from competing for a spot in the Red Sox’s Opening Day bullpen this year, and not long after he returned from the IL, Boston cut him from the 40-man roster. Clearly, the Dodgers were intrigued enough to strike a trade and keep him on the 40-man for six weeks, but he failed to earn his way back to the majors. L.A. will now have to place Penrod on waivers, and perhaps the potential that attracted the Dodgers to his arm will convince another team to put in a claim in the coming days. He still has three option years remaining.
So going by Snell’s history, he’s going to go on a tear and help the Dodgers get to October, which is probably one of the reasons they got him in the first place.
I thought they got him because he looks like Scrat from Ice Age, but your reason makes sense too.
Bahahaha
I was thinking Sid, but Scrat makes sense too! Haha
Haha you’re right! Hes got the solid rodent features that teams want these days.
Bahaha
CarvelAndrews,
Okay I see the resemblance to Sid from Ice Age, I can’t unsee it now!
It doesn’t seem possible for a pitcher to function like this. Miss a big chunk of the season then suddenly turn it on and pitch like cy young. But yea he’s done several times before.
He’s only had Cy Young numbers for two seasons… barely going 5 innings isn’t Cy Young to me
RE Cora
Depends on how effective those 5 innings are, No?
@Cora
Never take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from.
and you are?
You should take both advice and criticism from everyone, no?
Then decide what to do with said advice or criticism based on the quality of the advice or criticism not on the individual giving it.
“Only had Cy Young numbers for two seasons”
Oh because that is a long lost of guys that can say that!
Are you serious? This is what you got to downgrade a guy.
If you actually look, he has plenty of other years that qualify as TOR – yes, only 80% of tots innings as the guys they won but again, 130-140 innings isn’t that far off the norm these days.
His IL stints before this year didn’t even involve arm – gastro, illness, a knee I think. there are not 30 guys (1 for each team) that reach 175 innings with CY ish stats.
He has been too 20-30 most years that were not CY.
If you are going to truly go by his history, you have to suffer from 8-12 starts before he gets his groove on. That seems more reasonable approach than just saying it’s August. I, mean, June and July didn’t look good (like previous years).
Big Snell fan so wishing him well but the point made is fair for the “wait and see” which one you get in August. He should be good for September either way unless that injury lingers.
Is the maddening guy that gets up 0-2 and throws 4 balls or is the guy that commands that nasty back foot slider for the SO. Fun guy, love him when he is on. Never cared that he only goes 5 even when others still went 6. 5 ish is the new norm so he was just ahead of his time.
I don’t think he helps all that much if he pitches 4 or 5 innings a game… he’s got to deep
Going deep and Blake Snell don’t belong in the same sentence. That said, 5 1/3 like he pitched mid-May thru end of September last year will help any team any time. It was the best stretch that mlb has ever seen going back to a Gibson year in late 60’s. It’s on the team to have a BP.
With only 5-6 guys going over 195 innings per year now, mlb fans just have to get used to 5+ as the goal.
It may offset some injuries for these max effort guys.
You realize he has only had these stretches in a few of his seasons?
Everyone last year was raving about Flagery being amazing and he was basically a one year wonder. Snell has had two good seasons. He’s barely pitched enough the others
So, it’s not out of the question for Snell to go 7-2 with a 2.50 ERA and 80 strikeouts, and have the BWAA award him another Cy Young Award?
In my opinion Snell tends to have an on year. And off year. I wouldnt expect him to do anything this year.
Well he did win a CY in 2023, so…
One step closer to a fully operational death star
Let’s go
Don’t all the death stars get blown up?
Not before they blow up a planet
*Raises nerd hand*
Technically not all death stars blew up a planet.
Death Star 1 scuffed up a few planets and then blew up one entirely before meeting it’s demise.
(Think Texas: pop up, grab a title, and then return to mediocrity)
Death Star 2 was far bigger and bloated but ultimately only ever blew up a ship or two before getting waxed.
(Think Yankees: Lots of press, lots of hype, grab the odd playoff series win or two, never to accomplish their goals)
Death Star 3, which wasn’t really a death star, but really was a death star, blew up an entire star system before turning back into an actual star.
(Think Dodgers: Put together a massive team, go on to win a number of titles, then be disbanded after the great San Andreas earthquake takes large portions of the west coast out and down into the ocean, never to be seen again. But they went out as champs, so there’s that.)
*puts down nerd hand and walks away in shame*
RE Canuckle
On average, they blow up a planet, or more, before they are destroyed.
That would be accurate. That last Death Star that wasn’t a death star really did help out with the averages.
Death Star 3? You mean Starkiller base? Not a Death Star. A Death Star is a spaceship, or space station, that is capable of traveling through space and has a planet killing weapon made with kyber crystals that is self powered. Starkiller base is some nonsense JJ Abrams made up to please Disney executives.
Psst
Everything in Star Wars is made up.
E. Hernandez to the 60-day? Not sure if that would make him ineligible for the rest of the season since it would be retroactive to early July.
Retro active to early July would mean be could come back in early September
Early July + 30 days = early August
Early August + 30 days = early September
Actually, I can count. According to the rules a player placed on the 60-day IL after August 1 becomes ineligible for the rest of the season. Maybe someone knows if retroactive placement is an exception to this rule. I don’t, so that’s why I said I am not sure.
Anyway, the question is moot for now since they DFA’d a guy name Zack Penrod. Whoever that is.
BS_LA
“Actually, I can count. ”
It’s the internet. And, specifically, the MLBTR comments section. So, you never know.
“Zack Penrod. Whoever that is.”
Left-handed reliever acquired from the…Red Sox? in May? June?
I was being too subtle. Try clicking the link for his name.
Glad he has baseball. Never will make the cover of GQ!🤣🤣🤣
I could see him on the cover of Gaunt Quarterly
Guessing that you won’t either
Also guessing that you don’t have baseball
So…
how long before he goes back on DL?
Could you… BE any more obtuse. It’s called the IL.
It’s not obtuse to call it what it was called for 100 years before everything became PC.
That’s the literal definition of obtuse: annoyingly slow to understand
“everything became PC.”
They key word here is “correct”
Players go on the IL because they are INJURED. not because they are DISABLED.
How righteous of you
Not sure it is PC, it’s just more accurate of a title. Disabled means “long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder [a person’s] full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.”
Players get injured, most of the time it’s temporary. Now, players can become disabled due to getting injured over their career but tearing a muscle, getting a bone bruise, or blisters are not disabilities just injuries.
If I sprain my knee playing basketball, I injured myself not developed a disability.
That’s accurate Carvel, but some people are desperate to complain about anything that seems to shows empathy for others.
I injured my arm. It has temporarily disabled my ability to throw the baseball…
Ooohhh nooooo.
Not the dreaded Snell activation.
Get ready for the best quarter of a pitcher in the big leagues. It’s just too bad he’s still adhered to a little league schedule. Seriously.
The greatest rotation of all time is almost complete.
I predict a perfect run in the playoffs 11-0.
Just another wildly ridiculous expectation. Not saying you have it in reality but plenty of Dodgers fans WHO DON’T KNOW THE GAME actually think something like that is possible. Then they start screaming about firing Doc, Friedman, Gomes, Prior, et al when it doesn’t happen. To those types the Dodgers should have run off 10 straight World Series victories. SO stoopid.
That won’t happen but teams can go undefeated through the CS. That’s not unheard of
Totally agree Dan
This is the MLB, not MLB The Show. You never know what could happen
The Dodgers aren’t even better than they were last year. I think Cubs and Phillies are better this year. But, anything can happen. Dodgers have been in it for like fifteen years straight and won one and half World Series.
“The Dodgers aren’t even better than they were last year.”
Not sure that that’s true. Last year they hardly had a starting rotation for the playoffs. This year they could potentially have Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow and Ohtani.
But the Phillies and Cubs are good. Dodgers really didn’t have much competition last year. Mets got lucky and they blew right by them. I don’t consider Glasnow or Snell, especially Snell an ace. The other two you are correct
That’s not even counting Clayton Kershaw. His two outs at the ASG should give Roberts an extra idea how to deploy Clayton in a short series.
Second half Snell is ready to go on another late season roll.
Snell looks OK. High pitch counts, lots of Ks and hard contact. Typical early season Snell.
Yeah, the Dodgers got their super group together. But are they peak Traveling Wilburys or more like Velvet Revolver?
@Mr. E Team: I quite enjoyed Velvet Revolver, the debut album was solid.
Bad Company?
Where is Ohtani going to pitch?
From the mound!
From centerfield. He is… Ohtani!
Six man rotation
In LA Wednesday. From comments on the Dodgers broadcast, sounds like the team is worried about him batting the day after he pitches (I didn’t hear why that day is a problem relative to the day-of or the day before), so are trying to pitch him the day before off days. Monkeying around with the rotation order to accommodate the needs of one guy seems weird, but they do this kind of thing a lot. In Friedman We Trust.
When the Dodgers were playing the Red Sox last weekend the Sox broadcasters talked about the Dodgers trying to only pitch Ohtani in games where there is an off day the next day. Pretty much limiting Ohtani to Wednesday or Sunday starts which means the 6 man rotation would be a soft 6 man rotation depending on how the schedule falls
I’ll never hate on this dude, welcome back Snell.
I’ve pulled for the Dodgers for 62 years, but I don’t think that the Dodgers will win the NL West or go very far in the playoffs. Only Smith, Ohtani, and Freeman are currently hitting, and the relief pitching had the 6th worst ERA in the majors just a few days ago. Yamamotto appears to be the only starter that consistently gives good outings. ‘Hope I’m wrong, but I believe the Dodgers will surrender first place in the West this month.