USA Today via Reuters
Apr 3, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow (31) before playing against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Apr 3, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow (31) before playing against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
If you were pumped about Tyler Glasnow’s return to the mound, you’ll need to hit pause on that excitement. For how long? As per recent news, the timeline for his comeback is still up in the air! Just when Dodgers fans and the team were gearing up to see him back from his elbow injury—especially with his simulated game scheduled at Truist Park this Friday. The things didn’t go as planned, and, bummer alert—forget about the game—Glasnow didn’t even make it through his warmup.
Yup, you heard that right—the Dodgers’ star right-hander had a bit of a hiccup during his warmups and had to cut the session short. How long was he out there, for the day? The 31-year-old threw around 20 pitches before realizing something didn’t feel right. So, while everyone was waiting to see his comeback on the mound, Glasnow had to make a quick exit to the clubhouse. It’s a bit sad, isn’t it? Especially if we consider that the Dodgers are already racing against the clock, this timing couldn’t be worse. And one can definitely see the concern in the coach’s and team manager’s reactions.
How did the team react to Tyler Glasnow’s exit from the clubhouse?
You must be wondering what exactly happened at the warmup. Well, even the pitching coach, Mark Prior, isn’t sure about it. According to Dodgersbeat, Mark told the reporters, “Tyler didn’t really describe anything.” All he ever said to the coach was that he was not feeling good, and what else one could do, right? The coach had to stop the session immediately to possibly avoid any serious injury. Because, to be honest, this season hasn’t been great for the right-hander, especially injury-wise!
The 31-year-old ace has been sidelined since August due to elbow tendinitis. And that’s not all; this was his second injury this season. Before that, he was dealing with a back issue earlier in July. Even though Glasnow seemed to be making solid progress with two encouraging bullpen sessions recently, this latest setback during warmups has completely flipped the Dodgers’ expectations. What looked like a promising return is now back in question! But the team manager, Dave Roberts, has taken a route of optimism, calling his comeback situation “certainly not dead.”
However, that doesn’t mean that Roberts isn’t worried! He put his feelings perfectly when he said, “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow, but we’re running out of time.” And we understand that, with the playoffs rapidly approaching, the urgency couldn’t be more real. And let’s face it, Glasnow’s comeback in the lineup is much needed for the Dodgers to have a successful push! Breaking away from their pitching struggles.
Are the Dodgers stuck in a pitching curse?
Before being hit by these injury setbacks, Glasnow was having a stellar season. In his 22 starts, he posted a solid 9-6 record with a 3.49 ERA and racked up 168 strikeouts over 134 innings. The 31-year-old was definitely living up to the hype! And his amazing stats are the sole reason everybody was eyeing his solid comeback! Unfortunately, fate had other ideas, and it seems like the stars haven’t been aligning for the Dodgers’ pitching staff for a while now!
If we look at the past 4 years, the Los Angeles Dodgers have had the majors’ most injury-prone pitching staff among all the others. Even if we keep COVID-related IL stints aside, since 2021, the Dodgers have had 98 injured-list stints for pitchers—the most in MLB! So they are making both positive and negative records, don’t you feel? Plus, one thing to note is they’ve particularly struggled to keep starters healthy. Did you know the Dodgers have had just five pitchers make at least 25 starts over the last four seasons combined?
That’s the second-fewest in MLB during that time! It’s clear they’ve been hit hard by injuries to top prospects, and even though Tyler Glasnow seemed to be on the mend, he’s not quite there yet. And because of all of this, Dave Roberts must be feeling some serious déjà vu right now! With other key pitchers like Clayton Kershaw, Joe Kelly, and Gavin Stone also sidelined, they are in a tough spot. While they’ll be checking in on Tyler again tomorrow. What do you think—will they finally break their pitching curse, or is this challenge going to keep dragging on?
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Debate
Can the Dodgers survive the playoffs without Tyler Glasnow, or is their season already doomed?