Blake Snell scratched from start by Dodgers, returning to IL

Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell was scratched from his scheduled start Friday, May 15 against the Los Angeles Angels and will be placed on the injured list. Right-hander Will Klein was inserted to open a bullpen game in his place, the Dodgers announced.  

The team said Snell was headed to the injured list "with left elbow loose bodies" and backdated his placement on the list to May 12.

Snell is just six days removed from his 2026 debut, a rocky three-inning outing against the Atlanta Braves in which he allowed four earned runs and six hits in a 7-2 loss.  

The two-time Cy Young Award winner missed the start of the season because of what the team said was shoulder fatigue that carried over from a heavy postseason workload. He went 3-2 with a 3.18 ERA in five starts for the Dodgers in the 2025 MLB playoffs.  

Snell has a long injury history. He first landed on the injured list in 2018 with shoulder fatigue and then broke his toe in a 2019 bathroom incident before undergoing arthroscopic elbow surgery that same year to remove loose bodies in his elbow. His left adductor became a chronic problem, accounting for five IL stints over four seasons. With the San Francisco Giants in 2024, he missed the first three months with a groin and adductor strain before dominating down the stretch.  

He has thrown over 130 innings in a season just twice in his career.  

He signed a five-year, $182 million deal with the Dodgers last winter, then missed four months in 2025 with shoulder inflammation just two starts into the season before returning to go 4-4 with a 2.41 ERA in nine regular season starts.  

This story has been updated with new information.