PHILADELPHIA -- Starter Blake Snell was placed on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation ahead of Sunday's 8-7 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Dodgers recalled righty Matt Sauer from Triple-A Oklahoma City as the corresponding move.
Per manager Dave Roberts, Snell began throwing a bullpen session on Sunday and felt soreness in his shoulder. The 32-year-old left-hander's IL placement is backdated to Thursday, the day after his most recent start, and he is expected to miss two starts at minimum.
"I just think, if you¡¯re not going to finish your bullpen," Roberts said, "that¡¯s pretty much a tell-all to then kind of nip whatever is going on in his arm."
Snell was not made available to the media after Sunday's game.
After signing a five-year, $182 million contract this past November, two-time Cy Young Award winner Snell posted a 2.00 ERA in his first two starts with the Dodgers. He had been listed as the probable starter for Tuesday's game against the Nationals. Now, the Dodgers will need to decide their pitching plan for both Tuesday and Wednesday.
Dustin May is slated to start the series opener in Washington, D.C., but both Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki are on a once-a-week schedule and won't pitch until Friday and Saturday, respectively, at Dodger Stadium. That means one game might be covered by the bullpen, while the other will likely require the Dodgers to call up a spot starter.
Sauer could be part of the solution on the bullpen day. The 26-year-old made his MLB debut for the Royals last season and had a 7.71 ERA in 14 games in 2024. He allowed one run in three innings in one start with Oklahoma City and was part of the Dodgers' trip to Tokyo, although he didn't appear in either regular-season game.
Depending on which day Roberts turns to the bullpen, rookie left-hander Jack Dreyer could be another length option. He tossed a season-high 2 1/3 innings on Sunday, which was his first time getting at least seven outs in a game since Aug. 9, 2023, with High-A Great Lakes.
The Dodgers could potentially call on lefty Justin Wrobleski or righty Landon Knack from Triple-A to start one of the games against the Nationals. Right-hander Bobby Miller might have been another option on the 40-man roster had he not pitched five innings Sunday for the Comets, following a rehabbing Evan Phillips.
Los Angeles will need to push its starting pitching depth for the first time this season, which the team is all too familiar with after last year, when it suffered an influx of injuries to the rotation.
"I didn¡¯t expect it," Roberts said. "One day you feel good with where you¡¯re at, and then the next day you¡¯re scrambling a little bit. That¡¯s part of the marathon of a Major League season."