Blake Snell reveals root of injury issues as Dodgers likely to start 2026 without him

Blake Snell's claim that he was left "exhausted" by the 2025 season was met with some derision from not just Dodgers haters, but Dodgers fans. Snell was a postseason hero, but he only pitched 95 1/3 innings between the regular and postseason. Even 37-year-old Clayton Kershaw pitched more. What "exhaustion"?

It was the first big injury reveal of the year, and something that Dodgers fans can't really be surprised by anymore. But the team's language has escalated from "slow-playing" Snell to him not being ready by Opening Day at all.

Snell has dealt with his fair share of injuries throughout his career, so we probably shouldn't have been surprised. He only pitched 104 innings before the Dodgers signed him to a five-year, $182 million contract and spent two separate stints on the IL with an adductor strain and a groin strain.

Shoulder inflammation plagued him last year with the Dodgers, and he told Jack Harris of the California Post that he pushed through it and played with pain to get back to the team in August.

"Last spring, [...] I just got myself in a bad spot, getting ready too quick," Snell said. "Once we went to Japan, that's when I started feeling the shoulder –– I should've stopped. But I wanted to pitch Opening Day. And then I wanted to pitch against the Braves after that. And that’s when it was like, 'Ah.' I could barely get my shoulder up to throw after that. [...] And in the postseason, I felt it again."

Blake Snell says he played through pain during Dodgers' 2025 postseason run

Dave Roberts told media that the chances of Snell being ready by Opening Day are "probably zero," but Snell made it sound like he's not in active pain, which is a good sign.

"I feel really good," he said. "The whole offseason was tough. But finally, I'm where I want to be. So now it's building up and getting ready for the season. … Trust my arm, get everything synced up."

So the Dodgers "slow-play" seems more proactive instead of reactive, which should be a little reassuring to fans.

Of course, knowing the Dodgers, Snell could throw two starts, then report discomfort, and then we'd be doing this all over again, but for now we'll take Snell at face value and believe him. After all, the Dodgers have more pitchers than they need, so there's no reason to force Snell to throw before he's ready and risk exacerbating the issue.