Blake Snell Told the Dodgers Exactly What He Thinks About Returning to the Mound

Blake Snell is almost ready to start doing the thing he gets paid to do again. And he wants everyone to know it.

The Dodgers left-hander, who signed a massive deal over the winter and then promptly went under the knife for elbow surgery, has been working his way back all season. Los Angeles has managed just fine without him — they own the best record in baseball — but Snell is getting antsy.

“I can’t wait to stack innings up, get back and pitch in the big leagues and do what I love,” Snell told Spectrum LA’s David Vassegh from the Dodgers dugout over the weekend.

Snell took live batting practice Saturday, a serious step forward in his rehab. The two-time Cy Young winner hasn’t thrown in a game that counts this season, and it’s been eating at him. The Dodgers signed him to be a frontline starter, but so far they’ve gotten a $182 million patient.

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters Friday that Snell will need to go through a full rehab assignment before getting cleared. That likely means at least five minor league starts. So don’t expect to see him in Dodger Blue until after the All-Star break, at the earliest. The team has been careful not to rush him. They can afford to be patient.

LA’s Pitching Depth Is a Good Problem

Even without Snell, the Dodgers rotation has been a strength. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been the anchor, though he sat out Tuesday’s All-Star Game for rest purposes. That’s a luxury most teams don’t have — their ace can skip the exhibition because the real goal is October.

And the depth just got deeper. Landon Knack was activated from the injured list Saturday, adding another arm to a staff that already features Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and a few other guys who’ve filled in admirably. Knack started seven games in 2025 and went 3-2, part of that Dodgers team that beat Toronto for the World Series title. He also started 12 games in 2024, the year L.A. took down the Yankees.

So when Snell does come back, the Dodgers will have options. Maybe they stretch him out slowly. Maybe they skip some starts down the stretch to keep him fresh. The point is, they don’t have to force anything.

Snell has been around long enough to understand the math. He won a World Series in 2021 with the Rays and another last year with the Dodgers. He knows September and October are the months that matter. But he also sounded like a guy who’s tired of watching.

“I can’t wait to stack innings up,” he said again, just in case anyone missed it.

The Dodgers return from the break facing a stretch of games that will start to separate contenders from pretenders. Adding Snell — even a version of him that needs a few starts to get his legs under him — makes a deep rotation even more dangerous. And with the way this team has played all year, dangerous might be an understatement.