Blake Snell's updated injury timeline and how it affects start to Dodgers' season

On Thursday, Blake Snell threw a bullpen session. He basically just did the bare minimum — 15 fastballs at "less than maximum effort" — but a crowd of Dodgers coaching staff and front office personnel gathered to watch.

Snell said after the session that he felt "effortless, easy, [like he] could command the ball," and added that the discomfort that led the Dodgers to "slow-play" him in spring training has diminished.

"Every throw kind of hurt," Snell said of initial sessions after arriving to Camelback Ranch. "It was just, every throw, I could feel my shoulder like, 'Ah, it's get better, it's get better,' but it was just cranky. I couldn't get it going. And I thought I was doing everything I needed to do, which I believe I was. Ultimately, I feel better (now)."

He also offered a tentative goal to return to the active roster: the end of April, which would give him about a month and a half to make up for the time he lost in spring training.

The Dodgers' rotation isn't hurting for replacement arms in Snell's absence, but how might things shift if Snell does come back that soon?

Blake Snell reveals tentative late-April timeline to return after slow start to Dodgers spring training

Emmet Sheehan is almost guaranteed to get Snell's open spot in the rotation come March 25, and the Dodgers could use River Ryan as a sixth starter or put him the bullpen to serve in a long relief role.

If Sheehan and Ryan continue to pitch well, it could put the Dodgers between a rock and a hard place. Do they send Sheehan to the bullpen and Ryan to Triple-A?

LA could use the opportunity to finally get that six-man rotation they've been teasing. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani will still be used conscientiously, and Snell's innings may be limited to start. Roki Sasaki still isn't used to an every-five-days schedule, rather the weekly starts he made in NPB, and the Dodgers could get close to that if they have six members of the rotation. Tyler Glasnow is also always at risk of an injury.

The Dodgers will still need to cut one player from the active roster when Snell comes off the IL, so it's up to both Sheehan and Ryan to make themselves look indispensable before then and put the target on someone else's back when the roster crunch comes.