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It’s one thing that the Dodgers have lost ace pitcher Tyler Glasnow for the season because of an elbow injury that had put him out since August 11 and helped torpedo the injury-prone hurler’s first All-Star year, as well as the first year of the hefty five-year, $136 million contract he signed after being acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays. But it’s another thing that the Dodgers have apparently lost Glasnow altogether.
Glasnow did not speak to the media while the team was on the road in Atlanta, and according to beat writer Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Daily Register, he simply cleaned out his locker and left the team on Sunday when it was announced he was done for the season.
Plunkett posted on Twitter/X that manager Dave Roberts told reporters: “I don’t know where he flew to. But he’s not with the team, no.”
Perhaps the Dodgers were willing to give an obviously frustrated Glasnow some time to himself, now that yet another season for him has ended in injury. That’s defined his history in MLB. Since he was converted to a starter in 2018, Glasnow had made 71 starts in six years. His career high was 21 starts in 2023. This year, he made 22 starts for the Dodgers.
Tyler Glasnow Has Long History of Elbow Trouble
The Dodgers knew the risks of acquiring Glasnow when they made the move to send away three prospects in a trade for him in December, then give him the major contract the next day. It had all gone well into the first week of July, when Glasnow was 8-5 with a 3.47 ERA, allowing opponents a batting average of just .183 and striking out 143 in 109 innings.
Glasnow suffered a minor back injury after his July 5 start, though that was not considered serious, especially because it was not connected to the elbow problems that have plagued his entire career. Glasnow returned for four starts before the elbow trouble started though, and has not gone in over a month.
He had Tommy John surgery on the elbow in 2021, and missed all but two starts in 2022.
Back when the Dodgers acquired Glasnow, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team was willing to take a chance on him as their ace.
“We feel like the arrow is really pointing up and that, over the next few years, he is really going to take on a lot of starts. We spent a lot of time digging into that,” Friedman said at the time, according to the L.A. Times. “And that’s a bet we’re making.”
Dodgers Could Struggle to Piece Together a Playoff Rotation
While the future of Glasnow is a big issue for the Dodgers to weigh, the more immediate concern is patching together a credible pitching rotation after what has been an injury-ravaged year.
Deadline acquisition Jack Flaherty has been a godsend amid the injury woes, though he struggled in his last outing. He is 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA with the Dodgers.
Japanese rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was out for three months with a rotator cuff sprain, is also back on the mound, and though he has been limited to four innings per start, he has allowed no earned runs in his two times through the rotation.
After that, the Dodgers simply have to hope. Maybe Clayton Kershaw can return from a toe injury. Maybe guys who have struggled, like Walker Buehler or Bobby Miller can come through with solid starts.
“It’s difficult. It’s manageable. We’re doing it,” Roberts said. “The main thing is, we have to just continue to stay focused on the players that are available to us, and winning a baseball game that night. To the guys’ credit, that’s what they’ve done, and we’ve put ourselves in a good spot, given all we’ve gone through this year.
“We still have a pretty good ballclub.”
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