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Blake Snell reached 10 years of Major League service time on Friday, per Dodger Blue staff. It’s a significant personal milestone for the 33-year-old left-hander, who has been on the 60-day injured list as he works his way back from left elbow surgery. He becomes the second Dodgers player to hit the 10-year mark in 2026, joining Edwin Ríos.

Snell’s career has been anything but ordinary. He broke into the majors with the Tampa Bay Rays back in 2016 and won his first Cy Young Award in 2018, posting a 1.89 ERA across 31 starts — a season that announced him as one of the most talented arms in the game. He stayed with the Rays through 2022 before signing with the San Diego Padres, where he won a second Cy Young in 2023 with a 2.25 ERA. That made him just the sixth pitcher in history to win the award in both leagues. He signed with the Dodgers ahead of the 2024 season, and while injuries have interrupted his time in Los Angeles, the talent has never been in question. Ten years of service time means full pension eligibility and maximum benefits — a well-earned reward for a career that’s already featured two of the most dominant individual pitching seasons in recent memory.

Ríos reaching the milestone earlier this year was a quieter affair, but it’s a testament to his persistence. The utility player has carved out a role through sheer durability and versatility, and crossing the 10-year threshold is no small thing for a player who was never a top prospect.

For the Dodgers, the real focus with Snell remains his health. We already know he’s been working through rehab and is expected to make one more rehab start in Triple-A before rejoining the big league rotation. The elbow surgery was significant — this isn’t a situation where anyone is rushing anything. But having a two-time Cy Young winner getting closer to a return, especially now that the rotation just added Tarik Skubal in the blockbuster with Detroit, makes this pitching staff look genuinely frightening on paper.

I think what gets lost sometimes is just how good Snell is when he’s right. The walks have always been part of the package, and the pitch counts can balloon, but he misses bats at an elite level. Getting him back healthy for a stretch run — behind Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Shohei Ohtani — gives this team a rotation depth that very few clubs in baseball history have been able to assemble. The service time milestone is a nice moment for Snell personally. But what we really care about is seeing him back on the mound in Dodger blue, and that’s getting closer.

Source(s): Staff (Dodger Blue) | First reported: August 2, 2026 2:22 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers