Dodgers To Reinstate Blake Snell Saturday
The Dodgers are going to reinstate left-hander Blake Snell from the 15-day injured list to start tomorrow’s game, reports Jack Harris of The California Post. He’ll be making his season debut, as he’s been on the IL with shoulder fatigue until now.
It’s a notable change of plans. Snell has been on a rehab assignment of late, getting to four innings his last time out. As of two days ago, the plan was for him to make one more rehab outing this Saturday. Instead, he’s going to be making that start at the big league level.
As noted by Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Dodgers have repeatedly said that they prefer Snell to build up to more than five innings before being reinstated. That they are pivoting from that stance perhaps bodes poorly for right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who departed his most recent start due to a back spasm. At this point, it’s still not confirmed if Glasnow is going on the IL or is perhaps just going to skip a start. One way or another, it seems the Dodgers are changing up the rotation outlook they had in place just a few days ago.
The Dodgers have been using a six-man rotation consisting of Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Emmet Sheehan, Justin Wrobleski and Roki Sasaki. As Snell has been rehabbing of late, it has led to discussions about who should be bumped out when he returns. Glasnow, Ohtani and Yamamoto were obviously not going anywhere.
Sasaki has been struggling, with a 5.97 ERA this year. Sheehan hasn’t been much better, currently sitting on a 5.23 ERA. Wrobleski has a 1.25 ERA but not in any kid of way that feels sustainable. He is only striking out 10.7% of batters faced and is getting assistance from a .222 batting average on balls in play and 86.5% strand rate. All three have options and could have been sent down, or perhaps moved to the bullpen. Perhaps the decision can now be kicked down the road if Glasnow is going to miss some time. The Dodgers will likely provide more info as tonight’s game gets closer.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Dodgers Notes: Glasnow, Snell, Hernández
The Dodgers are sending Tyler Glasnow for a precautionary MRI after his early exit on Wednesday afternoon, manager Dave Roberts tells reporters (including Maddie Lee of The Los Angeles Times). The big righty felt a back spasm while warming up in the second inning of today’s start in Houston. The Dodgers got him out of the game at that point.
Roberts said the team doesn’t believe Glasnow will need a stint on the injured list. The pitcher said it’s a recurring issue which he battles a couple times per season. Glasnow had a minimal IL stint in 2024 due to lower back tightness and was scratched from a start last September with the same issue.
Glasnow allowed a leadoff home run to Brice Matthews before rebounding with strikeouts of Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes. He became the 45th active pitcher to reach 1000 career punchouts in the process. Glasnow has fanned just under a third of opponents en route to a 2.72 earned run average over his first seven starts.
The early exit forced the Dodgers to lean heavily on their bullpen. Jack Dreyer, Edgardo Henriquez, Kyle Hurt, Blake Treinen, Tanner Scott and the just activated Brock Stewart all pitched in what turned out to be a blowout 12-2 win. Los Angeles is off tomorrow and none of their relievers topped 27 pitches, so they may not need to make any changes to the staff heading into a weekend series against the NL-leading Braves.
L.A. entered play on Wednesday as one of the two teams (along with the Yankees) whose rotation had a sub-3.00 earned run average. Shohei Ohtani was the National League’s Pitcher of the Month for April. Justin Wrobleski is second in MLB behind Ohtani in ERA. Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have each pitched very well. Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan are the two of L.A.’s season-opening starters who have struggled.
That sextet has accounted for all of the Dodgers’ starts so far. That’ll likely change within the next 10 days. Blake Snell, out all season after offseason shoulder fatigue, is set for his final rehab appearance on Saturday with Low-A Ontario (via the MLB.com injury tracker). He’s expected to rejoin the MLB rotation after that, so he should make his season debut in the middle of next week.
The Dodgers have firmly maintained they view Sasaki as a starter even as the former NPB star struggled with walks and home runs throughout Spring Training and the early part of the regular season. They might be more willing to move Sheehan to the bullpen, though he has a much better strikeout and walk profile than Sasaki does. If Glasnow does require an IL stint, that’d take the decision out of the club’s hands.
In other injury news, utilityman Kiké Hernández began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City last night. Hernández began the season on the 60-day injured list after last fall’s elbow surgery. That officially rules him out until at least May 24. Position players can spend up to 20 days on a rehab assignment, so the Dodgers clearly anticipate Hernández being ready to go when he’s first eligible.
Barring a setback, he’ll return to the MLB roster on either May 24 or 25. The Dodgers have used Alex Freeland and Hyeseong Kim as their middle infield tandem with Mookie Betts and Tommy Edman both on the injured list. Santiago Espinal and fourth outfielder Alex Call occupy the final two spots on the bench. Call has a couple minor league options remaining but has been a productive short side platoon bat for the past couple seasons. Espinal, who broke camp after an offseason minor league deal, has more than five years of MLB service and can refuse an assignment to the minors.
Dodgers Notes: Snell, Sasaki, Bullpen
The Dodgers are cruising along with an MLB-best 16-7 record (tied with the Padres) and a share of first in a competitive NL West. Still, more pitching help should be on the way soon. Lefty Blake Snell is slated to start for Single-A Ontario Tower Buzzers tonight as he builds up for his season debut, according to Sonja Chen of MLB.com.
Shoulder fatigue in his throwing arm dates back to last year. While Snell was able to toss an excellent 95 1/3 innings between the regular season and postseason last year, the Dodgers erred on the side of caution and placed the left-hander on the IL to open the season. Snell is tabbed for three innings tonight and will need four starts to build up to the five-inning/75-pitch MLB level, placing his earliest big league return timeline as late May.
Even in Snell’s absence, the Dodgers rotation hasn’t missed a beat. Their 14 quality starts lead all of MLB entering play today. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani have been typically excellent, but Justin Wrobleski has offered some surprising stability at the back of the rotation (despite a lack of strikeouts). Between Wrobleski, Emmet Sheehan, and Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers will have a rotation decision to make in the coming weeks upon Snell’s return.
Sasaki has recorded outs in the fifth inning in only two of his four starts this season. Given his excellence operating out of the bullpen in last year’s championship run, it’s natural to wonder if Sasaki could be ticketed for relief. At least for now, Sasaki’s role appears to be safe. In response to a hypothetical Sasaki in relief, Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes gave Fabian Ardaya and Katie Woo of The Athletic a flat “No.” Reading between the lines, it appears the final rotation spot will fall to Wrobleski or Sheehan, with Wrobleski currently occupying the inside track. Performance in the coming weeks could shift this assessment (and injuries to the rest of the rotation could upend it entirely).
It’s an interesting position by Gomes and the organization, given Sasaki’s struggles, but it reflects the Dodgers’ long-term belief in his potential. Sasaki surrendered only a single run in 10 2/3 innings last postseason, but wasn’t dominant by any means. His 2.3 K-BB% was lackluster, and ERA models like xFIP (5.72) and SIERA (5.35) didn’t love his work in an admittedly small sample. However, Sasaki was able to corral the long ball issues (again, small sample size) that have plagued his MLB work up to this point. In all likelihood, Sasaki’s gutsy October performance had little bearing on the organization’s long-term vision for him.
Sasaki’s 2026 starting work looks largely similar to 2025, with a marginal improvement in strikeouts and more fly balls leaving the yard on a rate basis. But if the Dodgers remain committed to locking him into rotation, one of Wrobleski or Sheehan will be squeezed off the roster or the bullpen. Fortunately, both Wrobleski and Sheehan have options remaining, meaning either of them can be freely moved between the major league club and its minor league affiliates them being exposed to waivers. Sasaki also has options remaining, meaning the Dodgers could theoretically allow him to continue working as a starter in the minors if they want to keep him stretched out as a starter, though this route seems unlikely.
LA’s bullpen pecking order is also currently under evaluation after closer Edwin Diaz went under the knife to remove loose bodies in his throwing elbow. While manager Dave Roberts acknowledged top lefty Tanner Scott could receive the majority of the save opportunities, he stopped short of anointing him interim closer, plainly stating (via Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register) the approach as “…the closer-by-committee way of doing it.” High-leverage righty Brock Stewart, currently rehabbing with Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers, is also nearing a return. Between lefties (Scott and Alex Vesia) and righties (Blake Treinen and Stewart), Roberts should have a multitude of options at his disposal to attack hitters in the late innings until Diaz’s reinstatement.
NL West Notes: Tatis, Arraez, Hentges, Snell, Edman
Fernando Tatis Jr. was 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI in yesterday’s 9-5 Padres win over the Rockies, but the most notable aspect of Tatis’ game was his role as San Diego’s starting second baseman. It was just Tatis’ second career big league game at second base and his first start at the position, and the move came about since shortstop Xander Bogaerts had a day off. “We felt like Tatis was the best option at second base, and the most fun and exciting option at second base,” manager Craig Stammen told The Athletic’s Dennis Lin and other reporters, as the Padres look for ways to juggle their lineup, find at-bats for everyone, and keep their players fresh.
Needless to say, Tatis isn’t leaving his regular right field spot any time soon, but getting the odd game in at the keystone can add to his already high defensive value. Stammen also suggested that the position change might get Tatis rolling after a slow start at the plate, and Tatis’ three-hit night indicates that the tactic may have worked.
More from around the NL West…
- X-rays were negative on Luis Arraez‘s right wrist after the Giants second baseman was removed from yesterday’s game. An unusual play at second base saw Dylan Beavers accidentally kick Arraez in the hand while trying to avoid a tag in the bottom of the fourth inning, and Arraez was removed before the bottom of the fifth. Arraez is day-to-day for now, and since the Giants don’t play on Monday, it seems likely that he’ll be held out of today’s lineup to get two full days of recuperation. After signing a one-year, $12MM free agent deal with San Francisco, Arraez is off to a nice start with his new team, hitting .304/.339/.393 over his first 63 plate appearances.
- Sam Hentges also joined the Giants on a one-year, $1.4MM deal this offseason, and the reliever looks to finally be nearing his first game action of any kind since August 2024, as the A-level San Jose Giants announced that Hentges is joining the team on a rehab assignment. Hentges posted a 2.93 ERA, 27.7% strikeout rate, and 7.5% walk rate over 138 innings out of the Guardians’ pen in 2022-24, but his career was then put on hold by a shoulder surgery in September 2024, and then an arthroscopic right knee surgery last September. The left-hander’s rehab assignment figures to be pretty lengthy given how long Hentges has been sidelined, but he could be an intriguing x-factor in San Francisco’s bullpen when healthy.
- Blake Snell threw a 15-pitch simulated inning yesterday, facing live batters for the first time since Game 7 of the World Series. Snell began the season on the Dodgers‘ 15-day injured list due to shoulder fatigue, and he said a month ago following his first Spring Training bullpen session that he was aiming to make his season debut before the end of April. That timeline might be delayed slightly, as manager Dave Roberts told MLB.com’s Courtney Hollmon and other reporters that the team wants to see Snell built up in throwing sessions to the equivalent of four innings before Snell goes on a rehab assignment.
- Tommy Edman was one of the batters at the plate during Snell’s sim inning, which also marked the first time Edman had faced live pitching since he underwent ankle surgery last November. Edman began the season on the 10-day injured list but Roberts told Hollmon and company that the Dodgers aren’t expecting Edman back until closer to the end of May since he is “not at full speed” yet in terms of running. The timing means that Edman could be shifted to the 60-day IL at some point if Los Angeles needs a 40-man roster spot, though that decision won’t be made until Edman is deeper into the recovery process.
Dodgers Sign Jake Cousins, Place Bobby Miller On 60-Day IL
12:25pm: Cousins is guaranteed $950K and can earn an additional $50K via incentives, Ardaya reports.
12:13pm: The Dodgers have signed reliever Jake Cousins to a major league contract, as first indicated on the MLB.com transaction log. The Frontline client will miss most or all of the 2026 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last June but is controllable via arbitration through 2028. Right-hander Bobby Miller, who didn’t pitch this spring due to shoulder troubles, moves to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot. (Players cannot be signed directly to the 60-day IL, so Miller will head to the 60-day in Cousins’ place, but Cousins will hit the 60-day IL himself when the Dodgers next need a 40-man spot.)
Cousins, 31, has pitched in parts of four major league seasons. The cousin of NFL quarterback Kirk Cousins has suited up for the Brewers and Yankees to this point in his career, missing bats at huge rates and showing strong ground-ball tendencies but also battling repeated injuries and shaky command. Cousins has pitched 90 2/3 MLB innings, fanned more than 32% of his opponents, kept 47% of batted balls against him on the ground — and walked nearly 15% of the batters he’s faced. His career earned run average sits at a tidy 2.78.
Beyond last year’s UCL surgery, Cousins has been limited in recent years by shoulder inflammation (twice), a pec strain, a biceps strain and right elbow effusion. He’s never pitched 50 innings in a professional season but has consistently been effective when he’s been able to take the mound. He has a career 3.34 ERA in the minors with similarly impressive strikeout numbers. Cousins is a two-pitch reliever who’s averaged 95.3 mph on his sinker in his career and 82.5 mph on a wicked slider he throws at a whopping 61.2% clip.
At best, Cousins will be an option for the Dodgers late in the 2026 season and perhaps in the postseason, where his potent bat-missing ability could give Los Angeles skipper Dave Roberts an intriguing, under-the-radar option. For the time being, he’s a multi-year reclamation project whose name Dodgers fans can tuck away in the back of their minds.
The Dodgers also made a number of largely expected IL placements. Tommy Edman (recovering from ankle surgery) was placed on the 10-day IL. Pitchers Brock Stewart (recovery from shoulder surgery), Gavin Stone (shoulder inflammation), Blake Snell (shoulder fatigue) and Landon Knack all hit the 15-day IL.
Knack is the lone surprise on the list. The Dodgers haven’t previously indicated that he’s dealing with an injury, and the transaction log does not list a specific injury designation. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports that Knack is dealing with an intercostal strain. It’s not clear how much time he’s expected to miss, but he’ll be down for at least the first couple weeks of the year.
Latest On Blake Snell’s Timeline
Blake Snell has had a delayed spring ramp-up after experiencing offseason arm fatigue. The two-time Cy Young winner is now certain to begin the season on the 15-day injured list, though he expressed hope he won’t miss too much of the regular season.
Snell threw a 15-pitch bullpen session on Thursday, his first mound work of the spring. He said afterward that he’s aiming to make his season debut by the end of April (links via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic and Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register). Snell said he’s essentially at the beginning of what would be a usual six-week Spring Training buildup.
Manager Dave Roberts was less eager to identify a specific timeline. Roberts pointed to the team’s rotation talent in noting that they “have the luxury of trying to err on the side of caution.” That’s the usual approach for the Dodgers when it comes to regular season injuries. Their roster is so loaded that they enter each season with overwhelmingly strong playoff odds. They can afford to have players skip a few regular season starts with an eye towards having them available later in the year when the games are more meaningful.
Snell’s 2025 campaign was an example of that. He only made 11 starts and threw 61 1/3 innings during the regular season because of shoulder inflammation. He was firing on all cylinders in October, though, working 34 frames of 3.18 ERA ball in the postseason. Snell had a trio of exceptional starts in the first three playoff rounds — one each in the Wild Card Series, Division Series and NLCS. The Blue Jays found some success against him over his two World Series starts, though Snell recorded a pivotal four outs in relief in Game 7 to help set the stage for Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s extra-inning heroics.
Yamamoto is the obvious choice to take the ball against the Diamondbacks on Opening Day, though the Dodgers haven’t made an official announcement. (They’re presumably waiting to see how Yamamoto’s schedule maps out during the World Baseball Classic.) Tyler Glasnow will follow. Shohei Ohtani isn’t pitching in games during the WBC, but he’s throwing side sessions and expected to be in the Opening Day rotation.
Roki Sasaki has battled his command over two Spring Training starts, walking five batters in 3 1/3 innings. That led the Dodgers to shake things up, pitching him in a minor league outing against White Sox prospects on Tuesday. Sasaki struck out nine without issuing any walks and threw 59 pitches in that backfield appearance. Roberts reiterated that the 24-year-old will open the season in the MLB rotation, telling Sonja Chen of MLB.com and other reporters he ” just (doesn’t) see a world where (Sasaki) doesn’t break with us as a starter.”
Gavin Stone is joining Snell on the season-opening injured list. That all but ensures that Emmet Sheehan will land a rotation spot. They could carry a nine-man bullpen — Ohtani doesn’t count against the 13-pitcher limit as a two-way player — or turn to one of Justin Wrobleski or River Ryan to round out a six-man rotation. They’ll inevitably go to a six-man rotation at some point but might be content with a five-man group for the first week of the regular season since they have off days on March 29 and April 2.
Dodgers Notes: Snell, Graterol, Miller
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke to reporters, including Jack Harris of the California Post, and provided some updates about the players on the roster and their health or lack thereof. Perhaps most notably, the skipper said left-hander Blake Snell is making a bit of progress in his ramp-up but is probably running out of time to be ready for Opening Day.
The Dodgers won the World Series a few months ago but did so with a lopsided pitching staff. The bullpen was fairly shaky, so they leaned hard on their starters, even using them in relief. Snell tossed five innings in the first game of the World Series, 6 2/3 in the fifth game, then an inning and a third out of the bullpen in the seventh game. In January, Snell admitted that he was exhausted by the end of the series.
He and the club are planning for a deliberate buildup here in camp, focused more on the long term than Opening Day. That’s a luxury the Dodgers can afford since the roster is so strong that they can downplay the importance of regular season games, making sure their players are focused on being healthy in October. With this approach in mind, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the only pitcher on the roster to throw at least 113 innings last year.
There’s no real reason for Snell and the Dodgers to push for him to be ready for Opening Day. The rotation should still be strong even without him in it. Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Emmet Sheehan should have four spots locked. Roki Sasaki will likely take the fifth. Guys like River Ryan, Ben Casparius, Justin Wrobleski, Kyle Hurt, Gavin Stone or Landon Knack could step up to make starts, if needed.
Turning to the bullpen, Roberts also said right-hander Brusdar Graterol is in a “holding pattern” and has not thrown off a mound lately. It was already known that he wouldn’t be ready for Opening Day but it’s notable that he’s still not making much progress.
Graterol was a key piece of the Dodger bullpen from 2020 to 2023, posting a 2.69 earned run average over 173 2/3 innings, but has hardly thrown for the past two years. Shoulder problems and a hamstring strain capped him at seven outings in 2024. Surgery on that shoulder wiped out his 2025 and it seems he’s still not fully over the hump. Similar to the Snell situation, the Dodgers can afford to not rush him and let him get to full health, but it would be encouraging to see some progress.
Roberts also noted that right-hander Bobby Miller has not yet thrown off a mound this spring due to some unspecified arm/shoulder issue. He is hoping to ramp up in the next few weeks but that is presumably contingent on the issue subsiding.
Miller is a wild card on the roster. He seemed to break out in 2023, making his major league debut with a 3.76 ERA in 124 1/3 innings. But he posted an ugly 8.52 ERA in 2024 and then spent most of 2025 on optional assignment with a 5.66 ERA in Triple-A. He was moved from the rotation to the bullpen in July but his results didn’t improve, with a 5.91 ERA after that switch. He struck out 28.6% of batters faced in that relief role but also gave out walks at a big 13.2% clip. He still has a couple of options, so the Dodgers can keep tinkering with him in the minors as long as they continue to deem him worthy of a spot on the 40-man.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Dodgers Notes: Ohtani, Snell, Edman
Shohei Ohtani was on the mound for the final out of the last World Baseball Classic, striking out then-teammate Mike Trout to take home the trophy. The 2026 edition of the event won’t feature Ohtani the pitcher. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including Alden Gonzalez of ESPN, that the Japanese right-hander will not be pitching in the WBC. Roberts added that it was Ohtani’s decision.
Though Roberts said the team “absolutely” would’ve worked out Ohtani pitching in the tournament if he wanted to (per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register), recent developments around WBC insurance may have thrown a wrench into the situation. Evan Drellich of The Athletic noted Ohtani was unlikely to be covered as a pitcher, meaning he couldn’t have pitched in the WBC regardless of his personal preference. The insurance issues have led Team Puerto Rico to consider removing themselves from the event.
Ohtani will still be on Team Japan as a DH. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic relayed that the righty said he’ll be ready to pitch to open the regular season. Ohtani didn’t pitch at all in 2024 as he recovered from elbow surgery. A shoulder procedure at the conclusion of that season kept him off the mound until June of this past year. Ohtani made 14 starts for the Dodgers in 2025. He delivered a 2.87 ERA across 47 innings. Ohtani wasn’t as dominant in the playoffs, though he did toss six innings in three of his four outings, something he did just once in the regular season.
Health tends to be the main question mark for L.A.’s rotation, and Blake Snell is taking steps to make sure he feels right in 2026. The talented left-hander told reporters, including Ardaya, that he’s taking a more deliberate approach to building up strength this offseason. “Last year, I was rushing,” Snell said. “I wanted to pitch so bad.”
After signing a massive five-year, $182MM deal, Snell went down with shoulder inflammation just two starts into his Dodgers tenure. He posted eight walks to just four strikeouts in those two games. “Just never felt great, never felt what the normal (is) I’ve felt my whole career,” Snell said. He returned in August and looked like himself, piling up strikeouts and keeping opposing offenses off the board. The lefty limited the Reds, Phillies, and Brewers to two earned runs over 21 innings in the playoffs. The Blue Jays tagged him for 10 earned runs over three appearances, but Snell’s final postseason line still looks solid.
Even with the slower buildup, “the plan” is for Snell to be ready for Opening Day, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com. If Snell isn’t ready by late March, Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan would likely fill out a rotation. The Dodgers are a good bet to rely on more than five starters anyway, given the injury histories and heavy workloads of their core arms. As Ardaya points out, the starters covered 137 1/3 of 165 innings during the 2025 playoff run.
Tommy Edman is also going with the gradual approach this offseason. The 30-year-old is recovering from ankle surgery. The procedure included ligament repair and the removal of bone spurs, notes Ardaya. Edman said the issues affected him as a baserunner and as a defender bouncing between second base and center field. Similar to Snell, his status for Opening Day is uncertain.
“I think it all depends on how the progression goes along,” Edman said. “I’m not putting that as a hard line in the sand. I am doing everything I can to be ready for Opening Day. But if it comes around to that time and my ankle is 90 percent, not quite where I need it to be, I’m going to do my best to be patient with it and get it back to 100 percent and not dealing with it for the rest of the year.”
Dodgers Rotation Notes: Snell, Yamamoto, Sasaki
The Dodgers have made free agent moves in the lineup (Kyle Tucker) and bullpen (Edwin Díaz) to further load up the sport’s best roster. They’ve mostly sat out the rotation, confident in their internal arms.
L.A.’s pitching staff has carried heavy workloads on their runs to consecutive World Series. Jack Harris of The California Post writes that the club plans to keep a close eye on their veteran arms early in the season. That’s particularly true of Blake Snell, who tells Harris that he delayed his offseason throwing program after feeling “exhausted” at the end of the Fall Classic. The two-time Cy Young winner added that while he’s hopeful of being ready for Opening Day, that’s not a guarantee since the team is more focused on making sure he doesn’t put too much stress on his arm in camp.
Snell is among the three to five most talented pitchers in MLB. He’s dominant when healthy but availability has never been his strong suit. Snell has a pair of 180-inning campaigns but hasn’t reached even 130 frames in any of his other seven full seasons. Last year, he missed more than three months between April and the beginning of August with a shoulder issue. He was limited to 11 starts and 61 1/3 innings during the regular season.
He was around when it mattered most, logging 34 innings of 3.18 ERA ball during the World Series run. Snell started one game apiece in the Wild Card Series, Division Series and Championship Series. He worked at least six innings in each, including eight frames of shutout ball with 10 strikeouts in the first game of the NLCS, then came back for two more starts in the World Series.
Snell went five innings in Game 1 and logged 6 2/3 frames in Game 5. He gave up five runs and took the loss in both, but he came back on two days rest for his most important outing of the season. Snell logged an inning and a third out of the bullpen in Game 7, keeping a 4-3 deficit at one run to set up Miguel Rojas’ game-tying homer before coming back for the start of the bottom of the ninth.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto nevertheless outshone Snell in the Fall Classic. He deservedly took home Series MVP honors after getting the win in three of L.A.’s four victories. Yamamoto tossed consecutive complete games in Games 2 of the NLCS and World Series. He went six innings in Game 6, then came back on zero rest for 2 2/3 frames and 34 pitches as the decider went into extras. Yamamoto’s arm was so fatigued by the end of that game that he couldn’t lift his MVP trophy above his head without help from teammates.
Yamamoto won’t have the luxury of a slow spring buildup, as he has already signed on to try to help Japan defend their World Baseball Classic title. He’ll need to be ready for competitive game action when the tournament gets underway on March 6. Shohei Ohtani is also on the Japanese roster, though the team hasn’t announced whether he’ll pitch in the tournament.
Roki Sasaki is not expected to play in the WBC. His first major league season was up and down. He only made 10 appearances and logged 36 1/3 MLB innings during the regular season. Sasaki was out between April and September with a shoulder impingement. The Dodgers used him in short relief in the playoffs. Sasaki managed 10 2/3 innings of one-run ball despite walking five while recording only six strikeouts.
The Dodgers have maintained they view Sasaki as a starter going into 2026. Manager Dave Roberts reiterated as much when speaking with The California Post’s Dylan Hernandez this week, albeit with the note that he’d like the talented young righty to better develop his third pitch. Sasaki used his fastball half the time and his trademark splitter on around a third of his offerings last year. He used a low-80s breaking ball at roughly a 16% clip.
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman appeared on Dodgers Territory this week and downplayed Sasaki’s need for a third pitch to an extent. “He was able to dominate in NPB with two pitches and frankly, I think he could here as well with being able to execute at a higher level,” Friedman said. “Last year, his delivery was out of whack, velocity was down a little bit. So it’s either adding that third pitch or elevating the pitch-making ability.”
Sasaki’s fastball was in the upper-90s and routinely touched triple digits in Japan. He averaged a solid but more pedestrian 96.1 MPH during his rookie season in the majors. Better health will hopefully lead to an uptick in stuff in year two. Sasaki projects as the fifth or sixth starter in a rotation that would likely also comprise Yamamoto, Snell, Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Emmet Sheehan if everyone is available on Opening Day. River Ryan, Gavin Stone and Kyle Hurt should all be back from surgeries that cost them the ’25 season and are talented depth arms on the 40-man roster.
Clayton Kershaw Will Not Be On Dodgers’ Wild Card Roster
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts tells Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times that left-hander Clayton Kershaw will not be on the club’s Wild Card roster. The veteran southpaw is starting today’s game and it will be a normal start for him. The Dodgers recalled right-hander Landon Knack to give them a fresh arm, with left-hander Andrew Heaney optioned out as the corresponding move.
The decision on Kershaw makes sense given the short series, as they wouldn’t need him to make a start in the best-of-three. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake Snell will likely take the ball for the first two contests. Tyler Glasnow started yesterday but only went three innings. He should be plenty rested to start on normal rest for Thursday’s Game Three, if necessary. Shohei Ohtani could also be a factor in there, depending on how the Dodgers want to use him.
The Dodgers have experimented with Kershaw as a reliever a little bit recently, as he tossed a relief inning on Wednesday. However, Kershaw lacks the top-end velocity that teams generally like to have coming out of the bullpen these days. His fastball averaged 90.4 miles per hour during that appearance out of the bullpen on Wednesday. Even with the Dodger bullpen scuffling a bit in recent weeks, they seemingly prefer to go with their typical relievers instead of having Kershaw convert to a pen role.
Since the Dodgers don’t plan on using Kershaw in the Wild Card round, they can have him absorb as many innings as possible today. Their contest this afternoon is meaningless, as they have already been locked into the #3 seed in the National League. It’s also meaningless for the Mariners, who are locked into the #2 seed in the American League. The Dodgers presumably hope to have Kershaw and Knack cover as much of the game as possible. Though they do have an off-day tomorrow before the Wild Card series begins, so they could perhaps have some relievers get limited work during today’s contest. Kershaw should get more consideration for a spot on the NLDS roster, if the Dodgers advance.
As for Heaney, he has more than enough service time where he can only be optioned to the minors with his consent. Presumably, he has agreed to be optioned off the active roster. That arrangement likely works for both sides. He probably isn’t going to be on the club’s initial playoff roster but could be recalled if some injuries pop up. That gives the Dodgers some extra depth. For Heaney, it’s a chance to potentially pitch in the postseason, whereas not consenting would only allow him to get a headstart on his offseason. He’ll be eligible for free agency at season’s end regardless.
Roberts also provided updates on some position players, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com. Roberts expects third baseman Max Muncy to be ready by Tuesday’s game. He hasn’t played since Wednesday due to some unspecified lower body injury. Roberts added that infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman should be able to play the field by Tuesday as well. Due to some right ankle soreness, he hasn’t played the field since Wednesday, though he did serve as the designated hitter on Saturday.
Catcher Will Smith is a bit more up in the air. He hasn’t played in almost three weeks due to a hairline fracture in his hand, suffered when he was hit by a foul ball. Roberts says he has been swinging lately but will need to take live at-bats tomorrow to be considered for the roster. Currently, the Dodgers have Ben Rortvedt and Dalton Rushing handling the catching duties.
Photo courtesy of Joe Rondone, Imagn Images