What does Dave Roberts' update on Blake Snell mean for Dodgers moving forward?

The Dodgers have been without Blake Snell since April 3, when he went onto the IL with shoulder inflammation just two starts into his Dodgers tenure. He was the first of many dominos to fall, as all of Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, and Tony Gonsolin have followed in the intervening months.

Snell was moved to the 60-day IL on May 17, but it was more of an administrative move than anything. Updates on his injury and progress were hardly favorable enough to get him back before in 60 days, even if the Dodgers never gave his injury that designation.

He's already had a rollercoaster of a time trying to get back to the mound and make good on nearly $28.5 million of the $182 million commitment the Dodgers made to him this offseason. He's been completely shut down from baseball activities, started up again, shut down again, and so on.

He threw a bullpen on Saturday, which is progress, but Dave Roberts said that he isn't close to facing live hitters. "We got to do another 'pen and we'll see where we go," he said. "But I would just say overall, my idea of close is probably not, which could be different from yours."

Dave Roberts says Blake Snell is "ramping up" but isn't close to facing live hitters

At this point, it wouldn't be surprising if we don't see Snell back on the mound until mid-August or even early September. If the returns from whenever he eventually pitches to live hitters aren't favorable, the Dodgers could stall him even further before finally sending him on a rehab assignment, which could tack on weeks more to his overall recovery. Glasnow has been rehabbing in Triple-A since June 22 and has made two starts to bad results (10.38 ERA), so the team will probably let him take his time down there.

Thanks to the emergence of a few young pitchers (Emmet Sheehan, Justin Wrobleski, Ben Casparius) the Dodgers are treading water without Snell, Glasnow, Sasaki, or Gonsolin. Clayton Kershaw's return has also helped.

The Dodgers clearly have no answers for Snell, who's also undergone x-rays that found no structural damage but was still experiencing discomfort and pain. It's put more pressure on these young starters/bulk relievers and then bullpen, but they can't really do much other than soak up innings and wait for some of their injured arms to return.