Los Angeles Dodger manager Dave Roberts believes starter Blake Snell is making headway in his recovery heading into his rehab assignment.

Snell is yet to pitch in for the Dodgers in 2026, as they shut him down in spring training due to fatigue in his shoulder. He’s slowly ramped himself up since, and will begin his rehab assignment with Single-A Ontario on the road Wednesday.

Despite the severe setback Snell faced at the beginning of the season, Roberts thinks he’s “right on track” to returning.

“I think he’s right on track,” Roberts said. “We were very methodical about this whole process. Even from the outset, we were pretty conservative as far as when he’s gonna come back. So this is kind of what we had hoped.”

Roberts also set some guidelines for Snell to reach ahead of his first outing of the 2026 season.

“I think the expectation is for him to go three innings and then probably six days later, do another three innings and go from there,” Roberts said. “It’s good to see him around and with the guys. I know he’s chomping at the bit.”

How Important is Blake Snell to LA’s Rotation?

Snell signed a five-year, $182 million deal with the Dodgers ahead of 2025, but also spent most of last season on the injured list with a shoulder issue.

When he was healthy, though, Snell was one of the Dodgers’ best starters last season. He still made 20 starts despite his injury troubles, and posted a 3.12 ERA in the regular season. He struck out batters at a high rate, as usual, fanning 145 of them in 104 innings pitched.

The southpaw also made six appearances for the Dodgers in the postseason, pitching 34 innings and striking out 41 batters with a similar 3.18 ERA.

LA’s starters have been solid to kick off the season, posting the fourth-best rotation ERA in MLB (3.11), but there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Snell would provide some much needed relief to the rotation, and would certainly help the Dodgers amid their annual bullpen injury crisis.

Which Dodgers Relievers Are Hurt?

The Dodgers have taken two significant hits over the last couple of weeks, with both Ben Casparius and $69 million signing Edwin Díaz landing on the injured list.

If Snell were to return, the Dodgers would move one of their back end starters—most likely Justin Wrobleski—to the bullpen to add more major league experience into the fold.

Brock Stewart and Evan Phillips are other notable names on the injured list at the moment, but Stewart is up to Triple-A in his rehab assignment and could be up soon.

The Dodgers will hope Snell continues to progress, but have much bigger fish to fry heading into their game Wednesday. They’re tied at the top of the NL West with the San Diego Padres after their loss to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday, and could drop out of first completely with another loss.

Shohei Ohtani is on the mound for the game, and will look to get the Dodgers moving in the right direction. First pitch for the game is at 6:45 p.m. PT.

Are you excited for Blake Snell to come back?