The Los Angeles Dodgers entered Friday night’s series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks riding a six-game losing streak, looking for any positive news to turn around their recent skid.
Before the game, manager Dave Roberts provided exactly that, revealing that left-hander Blake Snell is set to rejoin the starting rotation next week.
Snell will make his return Tuesday night when the Dodgers face the Kansas City Royals. The announcement comes one day after Tarik Skubal is scheduled to make his home debut at Dodger Stadium on Monday.
Snell last pitched in a major league game on May 9. About a week later, he underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow, a procedure that landed him on the 60-day injured list.
He began a minor league rehab assignment on July 18. His fourth and final rehab outing came Tuesday, Aug. 4, when he worked 3.2 innings and threw 73 pitches.
Roberts confirmed the timing of Snell’s activation ahead of Friday’s contest featuring Roki Sasaki on the mound for Los Angeles opposite Merrill Kelly of the Diamondbacks.
This marks Snell’s second season with the Dodgers and his 11th overall in the majors. He has made just 12 starts across those two years with the club. He opened the current season on the injured list and has made only one start so far in 2026.
Last year, left shoulder inflammation sidelined him for several months. When healthy, he still delivered strong results, going 5-4 with a 2.35 ERA in 11 starts while striking out 72 batters over 61.1 innings.
Snell will now slot into a rotation that already includes Skubal, Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Justin Wrobleski is also expected to remain in the mix.
The Dodgers could elect to keep Eric Lauer as a sixth starter for the time being. Tyler Glasnow remains on the injured list, while Shohei Ohtani continues to be unavailable as a pitcher due to a lingering knee issue.
The timing of Snell’s return offers a potential boost for a team searching for consistency on the mound during a difficult stretch.
Fans at Dodger Stadium will get their first look at the two-time Cy Young Award winner in nearly three months when he takes the hill Tuesday against Kansas City.
Roberts and the coaching staff will monitor Snell’s workload carefully as he transitions back from the long layoff following elbow surgery.
The organization has been patient with his recovery process, allowing him to build up pitch counts gradually through the rehab starts.
Adding Snell to the mix strengthens what already ranks among the more talented rotations in the National League once fully healthy. His ability to miss bats and limit hard contact has been evident in past seasons, giving the Dodgers another high-upside option as they push toward the final stretch of the regular season.
With the current losing streak creating urgency, the club will hope Snell’s presence helps stabilize the pitching staff in the weeks ahead.
The series against the Diamondbacks represents an early test, but attention is already shifting toward next week’s matchups and the long-awaited returns of key arms.
