The Dodgers still don’t know whether Blake Snell will take the ball again before the regular season ends.
Snell left Wednesday’s start after just one inning because of a groin injury he felt before the game, and with only nine games remaining - including a key series against the San Diego Padres, where he is scheduled to start - Los Angeles is trying to sort out what comes next for its rotation.
Snell sounded upbeat about his chances of making that next turn. Manager Dave Roberts was much less certain.
“It’s a possibility,” Roberts said. “I like where his head is at, but he just can’t afford any more setbacks. So, whether it’s his next start or being pushed back or whatever it is, we’ve got to make sure that he comes out ready to go in the postseason.”
Snell said he knew something was off before he even took the mound, but he tried to work through it anyway. That plan didn’t last long.
“I wasn’t trying to use my lower half. It was only a couple pitches where I got into my legs and threw the ball hard,” Snell said. “Outside of that, I was kind of guiding it in there.”
The left-hander has dealt with groin issues before, and the history is part of why the Dodgers are being careful now. His groin problems ended his 2021 season about a month early, cost him a few weeks in 2022 and sidelined him for two months total during the 2024 campaign.
Roberts said he was glad Snell spoke up early rather than trying to grind through more innings.
“Obviously happy that he alerted us early to get him out of the game, not make it worse,” Roberts said. “He told me that he felt some tightness in his left groin, and it didn’t loosen up.
So obviously, the right decision was to get him out. I think, No. 1 is we’ll see how he comes in tomorrow, how he feels, get some more treatment and then when we get back to L.A., then we can make that decision if we want to get imaging."
For now, Snell says he still wants one more regular-season outing. Whether that happens will be determined over the next few days.
“The next couple days are really going to decide,” Snell said. “But I’d love to throw on my next [scheduled start day].
Either there or a couple days after. But definitely, I want to try to get one more in the regular season.”
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