Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts delivered some robust information to reporters this afternoon, as he indicated to the staff’s beat (together with Juan Toribio of MLB.com) that right-hander Tyler Glasnow has been identified with a sprained elbow and will probably be shut down indefinitely, leaving him “extremely unlikely” to pitch once more in 2024. Glasnow suffered a setback in his throwing program yesterday and underwent testing that in the end revealed the sprain.
The replace is a devastating blow to a Dodgers rotation that has been in flux for a lot of the 12 months attributable to accidents regardless of the acute depth they got here into the season with on paper. The 30-year-old Glasnow was an All-Star for the primary time in his profession throughout his debut season with L.A. and posted a 3.49 ERA with a 2.90 FIP and a 32.2% strikeout fee this 12 months, however he was sadly restricted to simply 22 begins and 134 innings this season. Whereas that quantity falls wanting a full season of labor, each totals truly represent career-bests for the righty, whose earlier career-highs have been set final 12 months at 21 begins and 120 innings of labor respectively.
Glasnow’s lack of sturdiness all through his massive league profession didn’t deter the Dodgers from dealing outfielder Jonny DeLuca and right-hander Ryan Pepiot to the Rays to amass him alongside outfielder Manuel Margot this offseason, nor did it get in the way in which of the membership finalizing an extension that assured the right-hander simply over $111.5MM in new cash from 2025 to 2028. Pepiot, who has posted a 3.76 ERA in 23 begins with the Rays this 12 months, has handled damage problems with his personal this season, and given Glasnow’s success with the membership when wholesome the Dodgers certainly don’t remorse including his top-of-the-rotation caliber arm to their beginning combine.
That doesn’t make the information concerning Glasnow’s possible absence from their postseason run any much less irritating, nevertheless. The Dodgers laid out nicely over a billion {dollars} in assured contracts this winter in pursuit of their first World Sequence championship in a full season since 1988 and in doing so added Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Teoscar Hernandez to a core of gamers that already included stars corresponding to Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts. Whereas the additions of Hernandez and Ohtani have taken the membership’s offense to new ranges even despite absences from Betts and Freeman all year long, the rotation as soon as once more figures to be a major query mark for the membership this October with out Glasnow to assist stabilize issues.
Yamamoto returned from the 60-day injured listing earlier this month and figures to start out Recreation 1 for the Dodgers this winter, with deadline acquisition Jack Flaherty standing out as their most definitely contender to start out Recreation 2. Who will comply with these two within the membership’s postseason rotation will not be but clear, nevertheless. Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller have each struggled badly within the majors this 12 months with ERAs of 5.95 and eight.17 respectively, making them lackluster choices to start out probably pivotal playoff video games. Rookie Landon Knack has pitched pretty nicely in ten begins for the membership this 12 months, however the Dodgers certainly would favor a extra skilled arm to comply with Yamamoto and Flaherty.
In fact, the returns of different injured pitchers may assist to bolster the membership’s rotation forward of October. Rookie Gavin Stone could be a tantalizing possibility given his 3.53 ERA in 25 begins this 12 months, however the righty is at the moment on the shelf attributable to elbow irritation with no clear timetable for return. Veteran southpaw Clayton Kershaw can be on the injured listing, however has expressed hope that he’ll be capable of return this 12 months and would assist to fortify the membership’s rotation combine whilst he’s posted a pedestrian 4.50 ERA in seven begins this 12 months. Roberts additionally prompt earlier this week that there was a “very slim” chance that Ohtani might be made out there to pitch throughout the postseason, nevertheless it’s not possible to think about the Dodgers altering their plans for the celebrity based mostly on at this time’s information concerning Glasnow.
