Patience is Necessary With Blake Snell's Expected Timeline for Return

Blake Snell threw his second bullpen session of Spring Training on Thursday, but it was more notable than his first time doing so as it included the catcher being down in a crouch.

Snell's first bullpen, completed on March 9, was with the catcher standing up.

"I feel good. I was very excited to throw off the mound again and pitch. Just been looking forward to this for a while," Snell said on SportsNet LA. "This being the first one where I actually could have the catcher down, I was still limited in what I could throw.

"I was throwing 87 to 89 (mph) but it felt effortless, easy. I could command the ball, 15 fastballs--five up, 10 with catcher down. Maintained 87, 88 (mph), which I did pretty easily."

When will Blake Snell join Dodgers rotation?

The Dodgers have not yet confirmed that Snell will start the season on the injured list, but manager Dave Roberts recently deemed it “probably zero” odds of the left-hander being be included on the Opening Day roster.

And even with Snell checking off his first true bullpen session, Roberts estimated it would be six weeks until he was ready to pitch in a Major League game. That rough timeline means the Dodgers likely will be without Snell until late April or early May.

"This was not a max-effort bullpen. Yeah, he's on the mound, which is great, but until he's kind of going full steam ahead, then we really don't know what we've got," Roberts added.

Snell missed four months last season because of left shoulder inflammation. His rehab process entailed multiple setbacks and Snell wound up pitching through more discomfort during the World Series.

It delayed his offseason throwing program as the 33-year-old instead focused on rest and rehab. Snell said in turn he would take a different approach this spring compared to last year when he wanted to impress heading into his first season with the Dodgers.

And though it wasn't until one month after Dodgers pitchers and catchers reported for the start of Spring Training that Snell managed to finally get some work in off the mound, he's been feeling healthy throughout camp.

"When spring started. Probably right when it started, I finally felt good," he said. "The whole offseason, every throw kind of hurt. Every throw I could feel my shoulder. I was like, 'Oh, it will get better. It will get better.' But it was just cranky. I couldn't get it going.

"I thought I was doing everything I needed to do, which I believe it was. Ultimately, I felt better."