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The Los Angeles Dodgers broke a four-game losing streak with a win against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday.
It was a reminder of just how important starting pitching can be, as one of the team’s only effective and durable options this season, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, had a stellar outing to put the Dodgers in position to close out the victory.
Even after making several additions to their pitching staff this past offseason, the Dodgers have struggled to field a healthy rotation. Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and Kirby Yates recently joined a long list of arms on the injured list.
As the team looks to get its staff back to full health, manager Dave Roberts offered an interesting update on the three most consequential arms on the sideline: Glasnow, Blake Snell and Shohei Ohtani.
“Asked to compare the timelines of Ohtani, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, Roberts said he expects Glasnow to return first, assuming he stays on track, but wasn’t sure how to pin Snell and Ohtani,” according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.
Glasnow has progressed pretty consistently since heading to the injured list in this latest stint, so it isn’t a surprise to hear he is likely to return to the mound first. But the fact that Snell could take longer to return than Ohtani, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery while still playing designated hitter for the Dodgers, is a different story.
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Snell was able to make just two starts for the Dodgers before getting sidelined and has experienced several setbacks in his recovery. He recently acknowledged that he was feeling discomfort before the season started but tried to push through it. If Ohtani beats him back to the mound, that will likely mean he has remained out until after the All-Star break.
However, it seems like the Dodgers are unable to determine a clear timeline for either player.
“Shohei Ohtani threw breaking pitches off flat ground today and is in a progression towards facing hitters, as opposed to the static state he was in not too long ago, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he does not know when he will get into simulated games,” Gonzalez added.
The Dodgers signed Snell as a frontline reinforcement for injured starters like Ohtani, so it could be a significant disappointment if he’s unable to contribute healthy innings sooner rather than later.
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Peter Chawaga is a veteran journalist covering Major League Baseball for The Sporting News. His MLB reporting has included feature interviews with commissioner Rob Manfred and Hall of Fame slugger David Ortiz, salary analysis, player rankings and more. He has covered baseball for Forbes, Yardbarker, Pitcher List, Athlon and other outlets.
With over ten years of newsroom experience, he has previously covered finance, technology, arts, and culture for newspapers, magazines, and websites nationwide. He graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in English and journalism.
English (US)