Dodgers Daily Wrap-Up May 19, 2026: Snell, Glasnow, Ohtani Recap

Published: May 20, 2026 12:05 AM PDT

This article was generated by artificial intelligence and is automatically updated as news breaks. All credit belongs to the original reporters and their publications.

Monday was one of those days where the pitching injury news just kept rolling in and none of it was good. Blake Snell has elbow surgery scheduled, Tyler Glasnow hit a setback in his rehab, and Brusdar Graterol might need back surgery. On the brighter side, Shohei Ohtani is going full two-way Wednesday, Eric Lauer is officially up with the big club, and Alex Freeland is absolutely raking in Triple-A.

Lauer Activated, Mills Optioned to Triple-A

CONFIRMED

The Dodgers made the roster move official ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against San Diego — Eric Lauer is on the active roster, and Wyatt Mills is heading back to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Mills made four appearances with the big league club, allowing three runs in 3.1 innings after his contract was selected on May 10, per DodgerBlue.com staff. Not a disaster, but not enough to hold the spot when a starter needs to come up. The fact that Mills was the one sent down — rather than another bullpen arm — tells you something about where he sits on the depth chart right now. Lauer’s activation ties directly into the team’s commitment to running a six-man rotation (more on that below), and we need him to eat innings. Simple as that.

Source(s): Staff (DodgerBlue.com) | First reported: May 19, 4:35 PM PDT

Freeland Named PCL Player of the Week

CONFIRMED

Alex Freeland earned Pacific Coast League Player of the Week honors for May 11–17, and the stat line is ridiculous: 10-for-25 (.400) with two triples, three home runs, 11 RBI, three walks, and eight runs scored across five games for Triple-A Oklahoma City against Albuquerque, per DodgerBlue.com staff. That’s not a lucky week — that’s a guy forcing the front office to have conversations. Freeland keeps stacking productive stretches at the highest minor league level, and with the big league roster dealing with the injury issues it’s dealing with, his timing couldn’t be better. I’m not saying a call-up is imminent, but weeks like this are how you build a case. We should all be paying close attention to what he does next.

Source(s): Staff (DodgerBlue.com) | First reported: May 19, 10:10 AM PDT

Sirota Promoted to Double-A Tulsa

CONFIRMED

The Dodgers have promoted outfielder Mike Sirota to Double-A Tulsa after a strong showing in High-A, per True Blue LA. This is the kind of quiet organizational move that doesn’t generate headlines but matters for the long-term pipeline. Sirota earned this bump, and now we’ll see how his bat adjusts to better pitching at the Double-A level. The Dodgers’ farm system has been churning out productive players in recent years, and Sirota is another name to file away. Double-A is where you start to separate real prospects from organizational depth — so this next stretch will tell us a lot about his ceiling.

Source(s): True Blue LA | First reported: May 19, 9:25 AM PDT

Morales Promoted to High-A Great Lakes

CONFIRMED

Infielder Emil Morales has been promoted to High-A Great Lakes, per the Great Lakes Loons via True Blue LA. A straightforward move up the organizational ladder — the Dodgers clearly liked what they saw from Morales at the lower levels and want to keep pushing him. These early-career promotions are all about keeping development on track and making sure guys aren’t sitting stagnant at a level they’ve already outgrown. Morales gets a new challenge now, and High-A will be a meaningful test. The Dodgers’ player development machine keeps humming along, even when the big league injury news dominates the headlines.

Source(s): Great Lakes Loons (True Blue LA) | First reported: May 19, 7:46 AM PDT

Ohtani to Hit and Pitch Wednesday Against Padres

CONFIRMED

Dave Roberts confirmed that Shohei Ohtani will be in the lineup as a hitter for his pitching start Wednesday against the Padres at Petco Park, per DodgerBlue.com staff. This is a break from the recent trend of resting Ohtani’s bat on days he takes the mound. Roberts said over the weekend “my expectation is he will hit” and reiterated that plan before Monday’s game. We love seeing the full two-way Ohtani experience, and a rivalry series in San Diego feels like exactly the right time to deploy it. The Padres will have to deal with him on the mound and in the box. That’s a problem for them. Getting Ohtani’s bat into the lineup on a pitching day also helps offset any lineup construction headaches that come from a DH-less approach.

Source(s): Staff (DodgerBlue.com) | First reported: May 19, 7:35 AM PDT

Glasnow Shut Down From Throwing After Setback

CONFIRMED

This is not the update we wanted. Tyler Glasnow, who had recently resumed playing catch as he worked back from the lower back spasms that landed him on the 15-day IL earlier this month, has been shut down from throwing entirely after suffering a setback, per DodgerBlue.com staff. He’s going to take a few days off from throwing completely. That’s a real step backward. Glasnow had seemed like he was progressing, and now we’re back to square one — or close to it. With Snell heading for surgery and the pitching staff already stretched thin, losing more time from Glasnow compounds the problem significantly. This one bears watching closely. Back injuries are tricky, and rushing a guy like Glasnow back before he’s fully right would be far worse than being patient now.

Source(s): Staff (DodgerBlue.com) | First reported: May 19, 9:35 AM PDT

Dodgers Committing to 6-Man Rotation With Lauer Slotting In

CONFIRMED

The Dodgers are sticking with a six-man rotation, and Eric Lauer is going to be a key part of making that work, per Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register. This goes beyond the earlier speculation about Lauer’s role — the team has made clear he’s not just a bullpen arm passing through. He’s a rotation piece. Given the state of our pitching depth right now — Glasnow shut down, Snell heading for surgery, Edwin Díaz already out after right elbow surgery — locking into six starters makes a lot of sense. It manages workloads across a long season and gives each arm an extra day of rest between turns. Lauer slots in and provides some much-needed stability. He doesn’t need to be an ace. He needs to take the ball every sixth day and give us five or six competitive innings.

Source(s): Bill Plunkett (Orange County Register) | First reported: May 19, 7:40 AM PDT

Snell’s NanoNeedle Elbow Surgery Set for Tuesday

CONFIRMED

Blake Snell is set to undergo NanoNeedle surgery on his left elbow on Tuesday to address loose bodies, per DodgerBlue.com staff. The NanoNeedle procedure — the same technique Tarik Skubal had — could help Snell return quicker than a traditional loose body removal. That’s the hope, anyway. The recovery window is the entire ballgame here. Traditional arthroscopic loose body removal can sideline a pitcher for weeks; the NanoNeedle approach has shown promise in shortening that timeline. With Glasnow shut down and our pitching depth getting tested hard, every day we can shave off Snell’s return matters. The surgery date is locked in. Now we wait for the post-op report and a recovery timeline. I’ll be watching this one closely.

Source(s): Staff (DodgerBlue.com) | First reported: May 19, 6:40 AM PDT

Graterol Potentially Facing Back Surgery

RUMOR

Another tough break for Brusdar Graterol. He was working his way back from right shoulder surgery he had in November 2024 and had actually started a rehab assignment at the beginning of May — real, tangible progress. Now he’s dealing with a back issue that could require surgery, per DodgerBlue.com staff. If he does go under the knife, this could sideline him for a significant stretch and essentially wipe out any realistic chance of contributing this season. It’s a brutal situation for a guy who just cannot catch a break health-wise. Graterol has electric stuff when he’s right, but staying right has been the problem for years now. Nothing is confirmed on the surgery front yet — this is still in the “could require” phase — so we’ll wait for more information before jumping to worst-case conclusions. But the trajectory here is not encouraging.

Source(s): Staff (DodgerBlue.com) | First reported: May 19, 12:35 PM PDT

God Bless and Go Dodgers