Blake Snell has been unable to participate in his second Spring Training with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he has finally started to make real progress.
Snell dealt with a shoulder issue throughout the 2025 season and forced him onto the 60-day injured list. Even upon his return, Snell was never fully healthy, and that lingered throughout the playoffs.
The left-hander didn’t have a normal throwing program in the offseason and reported to Camelback Ranch behind schedule.
But when Spring Training started, it was the first time Snell started to feel back to normal, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“Probably right when it started. I finally felt good,” Snell said. “The whole offseason, I mean, every throw kind of hurt. It was just every throw I could feel my shoulder like, ‘Ah, it’ll get better, it’ll get better.’ But it was just cranky. I couldn’t get it going.
“I thought I was doing everything I needed to do, which I believe I was. Ultimately, I feel better.”
Snell previously started playing long toss again, and on Thursday, he was able to throw off a mound with the catcher squatting down.
Snell made 15 total throws, five of them with the catcher standing up, and limited his intensity. He sat around 88 mph on his fastball, but came out of it in a good spot:
“I feel good,” Snell said after the low-intensity throws. “I was very excited to throw off the mound again and pitch. I’ve just been looking forward to this for a while. So this being the first one where I actually could have the catcher down – I was still limited to what I could throw. I was throwing 87, 89. But I felt effortless, easy, could command the ball.
“There’s no thoughts of, like, ‘Ooh, I still feel anything.’ So that’s a good place to be. Yeah, no, I definitely feel good. I think it’s a buildup now.”
With Snell now set to begin his build up, he still has a long way to go before he’s able to return to the Dodgers’ rotation. The Dodgers will also exercise caution with him as their primary goal is to have the southpaw healthy for the postseason.
Snell has already been ruled out for Opening Day, and the Dodgers are still planning how to set their rotation to begin the year.
Snell trying to avoid repeat mistake
Unlike last season, Snell is not pushing through discomfort to get back on the mound as soon as possible. Avoiding the scenario from last season, in which he missed a large chunk of the season, was top of mind.
“I think he’s working through it in the sense that, last year, he was on a new team. He pushed through things to start the season healthy, which is understandable, and you learn from it,” Roberts said.
“He was never right all year. I think that this year he’s going to make sure that he is ready to go, and once he starts, to start healthy and finish strong. And so I do think that he feels comfort in knowing that we need him, we count on him, we believe in him.”
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