ANAHEIM – Blake Snell will undergo surgery on Tuesday to remove the loose bodies in his elbow. But his return could be expedited by a procedure used on a fellow two-time Cy Young Award winner recently.
Snell was scratched from his scheduled start on Friday and placed on the injured list when he experienced pain in the back of his elbow while throwing Thursday afternoon. An examination revealed loose bodies in the joint.
The typical recovery time from surgery to remove the loose bodies is two to three months. That is the expected timeline for Dodgers closer Edwin Diaz, who had loose bodies removed from his elbow on April 22. But Snell’s return could potentially be on the shorter end of that scale if the same arthroscopic procedure used on Tarik Skubal can be used on Snell’s elbow.
Skubal had his bone chip removed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache using a new device called the “NanoNeedle.” It allowed ElAttrache to penetrate the elbow arthroscopically and remove the loose bodies with less damage to the surrounding tissue and thus a shorter recovery time.
ElAttrache is also going to perform the surgery on Snell next week and the NanoNeedle is an option, according to a source. ElAttrache will determine whether he can extract the loose bodies using that procedure after determining the specific location of the loose body and how much it is integrated into the surrounding ligaments.
Skubal started throwing lightly about a week after his procedure.
“It’s supposed to be a lot quicker recovery, so we’re encouraged about that,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the potential procedure. “We expect him certainly back this season.”
In the meantime, an off day Thursday will allow the Dodgers to delay filling Snell’s spot in the rotation until May 27 against the Colorado Rockies without asking any of their remaining starters to pitch on less than five days’ rest. The Dodgers could start Justin Wrobleski that day on four days’ rest and delay the decision a little further – perhaps long enough for River Ryan to make one more start at Triple-A.
Ryan returned from a month on the injured list with a hamstring injury to throw 53 pitches over four innings, allowing one run on two hits.
Making his third start with Triple-A Oklahoma City since returning from Tommy John surgery, Ryan threw six fastballs that registered at 100 mph or higher (topping out at 100.9 mph) and averaged 98.6 mph in the outing. One more start would allow him to build up his pitch count perhaps into the 70-pitch range – enough to consider him for a major-league start later this month.
“We haven’t had any discussions on that,” Roberts said.
GRATEROL OUT
Reliever Brusdar Graterol’s minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignment with OKC has been shut down after Graterol started experiencing back pain.
Graterol made four appearances with OKC but his fastball velocity dropped significantly in his last outing and he was sent to have his back examined.
Graterol has not pitched since the 2024 World Series. He underwent shoulder surgery shortly after that and experienced setbacks in his recovery.
ALSO
Right-hander Chayce McDermott joined the Dodgers in Anaheim Saturday but remained on the taxi squad. McDermott was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in a minor-league trade last month. He had a 4.32 ERA in eight appearances for Triple-A Oklahoma City. Whether he is added to the active roster will depend on the state of the Dodgers’ bullpen over the next few days.
UP NEXT
Dodgers (RHP Roki Sasaki, 1-3, 5.88 ERA) at Angels (RHP Grayson Rodriguez, 2026 MLB debut), Sunday, 1:07 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM