Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell is indeed getting a brand-new surgical procedure that could save him up to a month in recovery time, becoming possibly the second MLB player to ever do it.

General manager Brandon Gomes said Snell is indeed getting the NanoNeedle procedure on Tuesday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

That procedure, the same one undergone by Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, is expected to a shed a month off of Snell’s recovery time.

When will Snell return from his injury?

It’s hard to say for sure, but taking that one-month estimate from Ardaya and putting it toward the two-to-three-month timeline for the previous procedure, that’s a month or two for Snell, so in May or June.

But Skubal was throwing bullpen sessions within two weeks of the procedure.

As The Athletic details, Skubal had a classic quip for reporters when he greeted them in a Monday press conference.

“Bet you guys didn’t expect to see me here,” he said.

There’s a chance Snellzilla could be saying the same thing, and the Dodgers might need it.

Fellow starter Tyler Glasnow has been “shut down from throwing per now,” Ardaya said, another loss for an already depleted pitching corps.

How has Tarik Skubal recovered so quickly?

As mentioned, Skubal was the first known MLB player to undergo this procedure, and he used the same surgeon as Snell, Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

“I think the first thing they said was, ‘The recovery will be faster,’” Skubal told Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic about his decision. “I think I stopped listening after that. It’s like, ‘All right, I’m good with it if you’re good with it.’ You trust the doctors. ElAttrache is the best surgeon in the world. … If he’s comfortable with it, I don’t see why I wouldn’t be comfortable with it.”

Skubal’s agent, Scott Boras, has used the alternative term “Skubal Scope” for the NanoNeedle 2.0.

Skubal has jokingly put some distance between himself and the phrase.

“(ElAttrache) is the one who said it, and Boras ran with it,” Skubal told Stavenhagen. “Let’s clear the room there. I saw a lot of stuff about that. That was not our camp.”

Good Monday afternoon, Dodgers fans.

The Boys in Blue are getting ready to take on the San Diego Padres, but until first pitch at 6:40 p.m. PT, take a look at some of the headlines from around the majors.

One Dodger nemesis and one potential trade target are the subject of much talk around MLB.

Pete Crow-Armstrong cusses out fan

Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong made headlines ahead of the season by disparaging Dodgers fans and then doubling down on his criticism.

But it seems he dislikes fans of teams besides the Dodgers, too.

On Sunday, Crow-Armstrong got into a heated confrontation with a Chicago White Sox fan, with a video recorded by other fans appearing to capture him spitting a string of expletives at the woman. (Editor’s note: The video at that link contains uncensored swear words, including those sexual in nature and derogatory to women.)

PCA apologized Monday, as detailed by Jesse Rogers of ESPN.

“I regret my choice of words the most and who that affects in my life,” Crow-Armstrong said. “Directly or indirectly, I don’t think that any of the women in my life would think I would say those kinds of words regularly. I’m just bummed out about the word choice and a bunch of little kids going to social media and seeing that as well.”

Cubs manager Craig Counsell called the incident “a mistake with his choice of words.”

“He’s aware of that … It’s the reality of this job,” Counsell said. “Fan interactions happen. You want to try and keep them positive even when they’re not.”

Tarik Skubal is throwing already

Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal is throwing bullpen sessions again less than two weeks after having surgery to remove a loose body in his elbow, the Associated Press reports.

Skubal didn’t go all-out in that bullpen session, but the fact that he’s throwing just days after a surgery that’s sidelined Dodgers Edwin Diaz and Blake Snell for months is an encouraging sign.

“I haven’t had any symptoms since the surgery,” Skubal said Monday, per the AP. “I didn’t realize how much it was impacting me day-to-day until taking that thing out of there.”

“I think the first thing they said was, ‘The recovery will be faster,’” Skubal told Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic. “I think I stopped listening after that. It’s like, ‘All right, I’m good with it if you’re good with it.’ You trust the doctors. (Dr. Neal) ElAttrache is the best surgeon in the world. … If he’s comfortable with it, I don’t see why I wouldn’t be comfortable with it.”

ElAttrache is also Snell’s surgeon, so it’s possible Snellzilla will be back sooner than originally thought.

It’s also possible that Skubal, with his quicker recovery, could be back on the Dodgers’ radar as a trade target or free-agent acquisition in the offseason.