Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell will start Saturday against the Atlanta Braves instead of making a final rehab outing, manager Dave Roberts announced Friday, according to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.
Snell will be making his season debut after recovering from shoulder fatigue and inflammation. The Dodgers will limit him to five innings, the same length he would have gone in a rehab start, and likely 75 pitches, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic and Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
The two-time Cy Young winner allowed three earned runs on six hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts over eight innings (three rehab starts) in the minors this season.
Snell said in January that his arm was "exhausted" from another extended playoff run en route to helping the Dodgers win back-to-back World Series.
The 33-year-old posted a 2.34 ERA with 10.6 K/9 over 61 1/3 innings (11 regular-season starts) in 2025.
Snell will take the rotation spot of right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who L.A. placed on the 15-day injured list Friday with low back spasms. Glasnow left his start Wednesday after just one inning due to the issue, which has popped up several times during his career.
A few hours before announcing the IL move, Roberts said that Glasnow's MRI showed no "significant" problems with his back. Still, it's not clear how long he'll be sidelined.
In a corresponding move, the Dodgers recalled reliever Paul Gervase from Triple-A Oklahoma City
With Snell entering the rotation Saturday, the Dodgers will push Justin Wrobleski's next start back to Sunday, while Roki Sasaki will likely pitch Monday, Roberts said, per The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya. It's unclear who will start Tuesday in what would have been Glasnow's next scheduled turn.
