Tyler Glasnow’s Injury History: Is a Five-Year $135 Million Deal a Safe Bet for the Dodgers?

Tyler Glasnow and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in the process of finalizing a long-term deal. The ace and one of the best pitchers in today’s MLB world when healthy, Glasnow, is only one step away from joining the Blue Crew. But one cannot forget his injury-stained past, which could put his future in LA in question. 

As per reports, the Blue Crew and the Tampa Bay Rays established a trade to move starting pitcher Tyler to Southern California. This is where the right-hander will commit to a five-year, $135-million contract extension with Los Angeles. While it includes both a club and player option for the year 2028, as reported, there is one hindrance to overcome which is not a piece of cake. 

Tyler Glasnow’s Immense Pitching Performance

It is not to be forgotten that the 30-year-old made a great comeback last year after returning from his Tommy John surgery. At often instances during his 8-year career so far, made impressive shows of talent. However, there was a list of injuries that has been a massive segment of his career. 

His extensive history of injuries includes forearm issues in the year 2019, confining him to 12 starts that season. Post which his TJ surgery in 2021 limited him to just 16 starts until the 2022 season. Last season, he also missed a couple of months owing to his oblique injury. Though injury-prone, could he continue his stellar performance as a pitcher in the near future? 

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When in his healthiest form, Glasnow can be one of the best pitchers in baseball. He had a 1.78 ERA in 2019 with 12 starts. Along with a 2.66 ERA in 2021, 14 starts. Last year, in 2 starts his ERA was a 1.35. Overall, he has a career ERA of 3.89 since his debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016. There is no doubt that he is great at his job. It’s worth taking a further glimpse into his talented pitching displays. 

It’s Safe for the Dodgers to Tread With Caution

Glasnow is a natural when it comes to cutting four-seam fastballs. The speed ranges from the mid-to-upper-90-miles per hour. His go-to pitch for securing strikeouts is an overhand curveball that leads him to limit opponents to a .095 average, 10 for 105 in the past season. In conjunction with a 90 mph slider, his pitches propelled him to an impressive 97th percentile of all pitchers last year. The #20 pitcher’s strikeout rate was 33.4%. Despite these laurels, one can’t negate the health aspect which Tyler falls victim to more often than not. 

Given his history, it would be a bet that the Dodgers would be making. Especially after they made a big splash by signing Shohei Ohtani, they are under pressure to collate the best of the best pitching staff, considering that the unicorn can’t reportedly pitch till 2025. Glasnow speculatively could be a double-sided sword. On one end, he could provide really high highs for the team, but also pull them down with really low lows given his injuries. 

Read More: LA Dodgers Sign Tyler Glasnow to $135 Million Extension, Ignore Glaring Injury Concerns