The Los Angeles Dodgers have regained a key member of the rotation just as they’ve lost another.

Manager Dave Roberts on Friday told reporters that veteran left-hander Blake Snell would be activated from the injured list in time to face the Atlanta Braves on Saturday in the second game of the key series between two of MLB’s best teams thus far. Soon after that announcement, the Dodgers placed right-hander Tyler Glasnow on the 15-day IL with low back spasms.

Snell has been sidelined for the entire regular season to date because of shoulder fatigue. Inflammation in that same shoulder cost Snell four months on the IL during the 2025 season. Snell recently completed his third minor league rehab start, and he was able to go four innings and throw 55 pitches. As such, he’s not yet fully stretched out, so he’ll be in for an abbreviated outing against the Braves on Saturday even if he pitches well.

The 33-year-old Snell is coming off a 2025 campaign, his first for the Dodgers, in which he pitched to a 2.35 ERA in 11 starts with 72 strikeouts and 25 unintentional walks in 61 ⅓ innings. He went on to make five starts and a relief appearance in the playoffs as the Dodgers won their second straight World Series title. For his career, Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, has an ERA+ of 130 across parts of 10 MLB seasons. The Dodgers have struggled to get reliable innings from the back of their rotation — meaning Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki — and Snell gives them another ace presence at the front end.

What hurts the depth — and probably keeps Sheehan and Sasaki in the Dodgers’ six-man rotation — is Glasnow’s trip to the IL. 

The move comes after Glasnow was lifted from his Wednesday start after one inning of work and not long after recording the 1,000th strikeout of his career. Glasnow, 32, has put up a 2.72 ERA with 49 strikeouts and 12 unintentional walks in 39 ⅔ innings this season. Right-hander Paul Gervase has been recalled to take Glasnow’s spot on the active roster.

The Dodgers enter Friday night’s series opener against Atlanta with a 23-14 record and a slim lead over the San Diego Padres at the top of the NL West standings.