PHOENIX — Right-hander Michael Grove won’t pitch for the Dodgers this year after undergoing season-ending surgery last week to repair his right labrum.
Grove walked into the Dodgers clubhouse with his right arm in a sling Sunday morning but quietly declined to speak with reporters. He threw a couple of bullpen sessions this spring but hasn’t pitched in a game since injuring his shoulder in the second game of the Division Series against the Padres. In that playoff appearance, he gave up a home run to Xander Bogaerts then struck out Jake Cronenworth. He was removed from the roster following that game.
“It’s been a shoulder issue that’s been bothering him for, I don’t know how far back,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He tried to pitch through it and the recovery wasn’t what any of us would have liked. We tried the rest approach and we just felt that we had to get the surgery done.”
Grove had Tommy John surgery in 2017.
“He’s disappointed,” Roberts said. “He didn’t want to do another surgery, and he tried to, you know, tough it out and pitch through it, but it was just compromising his performance and recovery. He was ready to kind of compete for a job this year.”
Grove, 28, was bidding for a spot in the bullpen after going 4-4 with a 5.12 ERA in 51 innings, mostly in relief, last year. He struck out 54 batters and walked 16. A second-round pick in the 2018 draft, Grove made his big-league debut in 2022 then pitched in 18 games, throwing 69 innings, a year later. He was re-signed this month to a one-year contract for the major league minimum of $760,000.
Snell making progress with new team
Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell delivers against the Athletics on Sunday.
(Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
Left-hander Blake Snell struggled through a shaky 3 2/3 innings Sunday, giving up four runs on five hits, including a solo home run to Drew Avans, in the Dodgers’ 7-5 Cactus League loss to the Athletics. But that counted as progress since the outing was the longest of the spring for Snell, who made 67 pitches, striking out five, walking one and hitting 97 mph with his fastball.
“I’m happy with that,” he said of the velocity. “Towards the end there, I was just trying to get a strike. I kind of lost feel. But overall I felt good.”
A two-time Cy Young Award winner, Snell signed a five-year $182-million free-agent in November, making the Dodgers the fourth team he has pitched for since 2020. He said getting adjusted to new teammates and a new environment has been easier this year.
“The first time I did it, it was pretty difficult for me,” said Snell, who spent the last two seasons with San Diego and San Francisco. “Learning myself, learning coaches, learning players, not going there to, you know, try to impress people.
“[It’s] just more so proving myself, that I’m doing the right things.”
Snell is scheduled to make his next appearance in one of the Dodgers two spring training exhibitions in Japan next weekend.
You’re going out there and getting reps, so you’re just learning,” he said. “You you give up a hit, it’s like OK, what did I do right? What did I do wrong? Do I like that? Was that a good swing, or was that a bad pitch?
“You’re just kind of calibrating everything. By the time the season starts, then you have a better idea of what you’re doing. But you’re still learning and calibrating. It just takes a while. That’s kind of where I’m at. I continue to get better.”
Scheduling notes
Although Roberts is giving Mookie Betts and Michael Conforto a day off before the team leaves for Japan on Wednesday, he’s planning to stick with most of his regulars in the Dodgers’ final two games in Arizona.
“Mookie is going to be off tomorrow, and then he’ll play Tuesday. Conforto is going to play tomorrow; he won’t play on Tuesday,” Roberts said. “But I think for the most part you’ll see the regular guys.”