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Blake Snell‘s elbow surgery on Tuesday went as expected, per Dodger Blue, but the Dodgers still don’t have a concrete timeline for when they’ll get him back. The procedure — a NanoNeedle surgery that also addressed bone spurs — was deemed successful. That’s the good news. The less clear part: there simply isn’t enough information yet for the team to project a return date with any confidence.

Snell’s second stint in Dodger Blue has been a frustrating exercise in patience. After missing the early portion of the season, he made just one start before landing back on the injured list retroactive to May 12. That single outing was all we got before the elbow issues resurfaced and surgery became the necessary next step. For a pitcher the Dodgers committed significant money to, the inability to stay on the field has been a recurring theme. Snell dealt with similar availability problems during his first year in Los Angeles, and now we’re watching the same movie again in 2026.

The NanoNeedle procedure itself has generated some optimism in baseball circles. As we covered earlier, it’s the same surgery Tarik Skubal underwent, and Skubal came back to have an outstanding season afterward. The technology is designed to stimulate healing at the cellular level without the invasiveness of traditional surgery, which theoretically shortens recovery. But “theoretically” and “definitely” are two very different words, and the Dodgers are being careful not to put a number on this one yet.

That caution is probably smart. Rushing Snell back earlier this season didn’t exactly work out, and the organization seems content to let the recovery play out naturally rather than setting a target date they might have to walk back later. The bone spur removal adds another variable — it’s not just the NanoNeedle component they’re monitoring, but how the elbow responds to having that additional work done simultaneously.

For the Dodgers rotation, this means the recent commitment to a six-man setup with Eric Lauer slotting in becomes even more important. Lauer was activated and is expected to move into a starting role, which gives the staff some cushion while Snell is out indefinitely. The pitching depth is being tested — Tyler Glasnow was recently shut down from throwing after his own setback, and Ben Casparius was transferred to the 60-day IL. That’s a lot of arms unavailable at the same time.

I’m not going to sugarcoat this: losing Snell for an unknown stretch after already losing Glasnow is a real problem. The Dodgers have the organizational depth to absorb hits like this better than most teams, but there’s a limit. The surgery being successful is genuinely encouraging — we’d be in a much darker place if the report had said otherwise. But until we get a timeline, this is one of those situations where you just have to wait and see how the healing progresses. The rotation is going to need Lauer and others to hold things together for a while.

Source(s): Staff (Dodger Blue) | First reported: May 20, 2026 6:15 AM UTC-07:00

God Bless and Go Dodgers