Right-hander Tyler Glasnow of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who hasn’t played in a game since August 11, injured his elbow on Friday while trying to recuperate from elbow tendinitis. As Glasnow warmed up to pitch in a mock game, he had pain in his elbow, which caused the Dodgers to shut him down. With two weeks left in the schedule, manager Dave Roberts informed reporters on Saturday that it’s “highly unlikely” that pitcher Tyler Glasnow will make a comeback this season.
It was anticipated that on Friday, Glasnow will take part in a simulated game against hitters, forego a rehab assignment, and return to the squad the following week. Those plans are obviously no longer feasible.
This is just another setback for Los Angeles, whose starting rotation now has seven more pitchers on the injured list than active players (five). The current rotation depth chart for the team is as follows:
Yamamoto, who missed three months due to a rotator cuff issue, returned to the rotation earlier this week. He struck out eight in four innings of one-run ball and looked sharp, albeit he was limited to 59 pitches as he continues to build up after the injury. It’s uncertain if Glasnow and Kershaw will recover in time for the postseason.
The Dodgers are two games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers for the second seed in the National League and one game behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the best record in the league. The Dodgers, perhaps more than any other team, are in dire need of a bye, which goes to the top two teams in each league. They would have five days thanks to the bye to organize their pitches and perhaps even become healthy.
In his debut season with the Dodgers, Glasnow has thrown to a 3.49 ERA with 168 strikeouts in 22 starts and 134 innings when healthy. He hasn’t thrown as many as 134 innings since 155 1/3 in 2017. After undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2021, Glasnow’s elbow problems are concerning again.
The Dodgers have struggled mightily with pitching injuries over the past few seasons. Since 2021, they haven’t had a pitcher pitch more than 150 innings in a season.
