The Los Angeles Dodgers (40-27) are a true enigma. They are one of the only major sports franchises that can draw the ire of fan bases around the country during the offseason and then somehow morph into an underdog story during the regular season. And the reason is quite simple. LA boasts an abundance of highly talented pitchers, and most of them are usually on the injured list. However, the defending champions may soon regain “Big Bad” status based on the latest injury updates.

Left-handed starter Blake Snell, arguably the organization's biggest addition, cleared a critical barrier in his rehab on Tuesday. The two-time Cy Young Award winner (one in each league) threw a bullpen session for the first time since going on the IL with shoulder inflammation in April. Although not much can be gleaned from this development, it indicates definite progress.

“Snell threw 15 fastballs at about 70 percent intensity and said it went well,” Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reported on X. “The plan is to throw 20 pitches off the mound on Friday to keep building up. Snell is two weeks pain-free, he said.”

Hopefully, the 32-year-old southpaw maintains that condition when he wakes up on Tuesday. Snell is 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA and four strikeouts in two starts for LA. He has also walked eight batters in nine innings pitched. Control issues are an unfortunate feature of the Blake Snell experience that the team and fans are willing to accept if he can put zeros on the scoreboard.

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Dodgers are slowly inching toward full strength

The 2018 All-Star and two-time ERA king was not the only Dodgers starter to reach this pivotal recovery milestone. Tyler Glasnow got back at it after enduring a setback in his first bullpen session. Additionally, reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani, who has yet to officially take the mound for the Boys in Blue, threw 44 pitches in a simulated outing before Tuesday's road game against the San Diego Padres (37-28).

Gradually, things are starting to fall in place for LA's rotation. That is a terrifying thought for the rest of the league, given that the Dodgers are already in first place in their division at well less than 100 percent. Eventually, rolling out a depleted pitching staff should logically prove detrimental, but this organization continues to press the right buttons.

If all goes well, such creativity and maneuvering will not be necessary in the second half of the season.