The Los Angeles Dodgers had injury issues with their starting rotation last season, and it appears those problems will carry over to the 2026 campaign. Blake Snell admitted that the slow ramp-up could delay his efforts to be ready for Opening Day.
Moreover, last season, Snell was sidelined for four months with left shoulder inflammation. As a result, it wouldn’t be surprising for the Dodgers to take their time with the veteran pitcher.
Amid the latest on Snell and the Dodgers’ approach to handling injuries to their starting pitchers, former MLB executive David Samson didn’t hold back on Los Angeles, setting the roadmap for how teams should go about this situation, especially if they have the depth the Dodgers have.
“The Dodgers announcing that Blake Snell [is] not ready for the start of the season is not because Blake Snell cannot be ready for the start of the season,” Samson said on the Feb. 2 edition of “Nothing Personal with David Samson. “The reason Blake Snell is not ready for the start of the season is because they are very aware that to keep him healthy late, you got to start him late. Blake Snell came out and said his arm was tired, his arm’s exhausted.
“He had five postseason starts; he pitched in relief [and] he’s just done… I am not going to impugn the Los Angeles Dodgers front office. I’m going to go the opposite. Congratulations on giving us a roadmap to what is necessary to win through October. We always had the feeling that we were going to have injuries and that pitchers starting 30 games plus is something in the past, and now we know.”
Tommy Edman Injury Update
Another Dodgers player who will be looking to be ready for Opening Day is utility standout Tommy Edman. With spring training approaching, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman shared an update on the player during his Jan. 29 appearance on Dodgers Territory .
“The arrow is pointing up, just went and got evaluated again for that checkup, and everything is pointed in a good direction,” Friedman said. “Exactly what that means, we don’t know yet. Until we really start ramping up baseball activity, getting them in spikes, and doing it day after day after day, how the body responds will dictate a lot of it.”
Dodgers Will Be Patient With Tommy Edman
However, as with depth in the starting rotation, the Dodgers also have enough bats on their roster to be patient with Edman, especially after the arrival of Kyle Tucker. As a result, Los Angeles isn’t going to be careless with Edman and will be extra cautious with their versatile player to ensure a healthier 2026 campaign.
“We’re not going to be foolish and try to cut corners, but that being said, we’re also not going to artificially hold him back,” Friedman added. “We’ll have a much better feel as we get into February. By late February, we’ll have an idea whether we have the runway to safely build them up and be ready, or if we don’t.
“If we don’t, we feel really good about Alex Freeland, Hyeseong Kim, Andy Ibáñez, Miguel Rojas. We just have a combination of guys that we feel like can help hold down that spot for us and do it at a pretty high level.”
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