The Los Angeles Dodgers have been hit by the injury bug of late, first losing Freddie Freeman to the 10-day injured list before placing Blake Snell on the 15-day IL.
Freeman is expected to miss the minimum amount of time after slipping in the shower and aggravating his ankle. He could of played, but the Dodgers erred on the side of caution.
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Snell was a surprise injury, landing on the IL with left shoulder inflammation just before the Dodgers’ series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The left-hander first started experiencing soreness during his bullpen session, so manager Dave Roberts explained the Dodgers made the move to place him on the IL rather than letting it linger, via SportsNet LA:
“He threw a bullpen today, and some soreness. We just felt that right there, you’re going to miss a start. So we can backdate the three days. Obviously, someone will make his start on Tuesday.”
Snell’s IL stint is backdated to April 3, so the earliest he can be activated is Friday, April 18. With Snell out for the next 12 days at minimum, that places him in line to miss multiple starts:
“I think two starts. If you’re going to go on the IL, given where we’re at in the season, I think two is certainly the floor and we’ll kind of go from there.”
The Dodgers already planned to utilize a bullpen game or spot start this week to keep Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki on their regular schedule, so this now means the Dodgers will need to fill two days.
Landon Knack figures to be called up for one of those starts, and they could either turn to another pitcher to make the other start, or utilize the bullpen game.
Blake Snell early season injury issues
Last year Snell dealt with a left adductor strain and strained left groin. Left shoulder fatigue led to a stint on the injured list in 2018.
So far this season, Snell is 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA, 4.72 FIP and 2.00 WHIP through two starts.
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