Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who has not appeared in a game since Aug. 11, suffered a strained elbow during his attempted recovery from elbow tendinitis on Friday. Glasnow felt discomfort in his elbow while warming up to pitch a simulated game, and the Dodgers shut him down. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Saturday that it’s “highly unlikely” Glasnow will return this season — an unsurprising development, in a sense, given only two weeks remain on the schedule.
The hope was Glasnow would face hitters in a simulated game Friday and possibly skip a rehab assignment, and rejoin the team next week. Clearly those plans are out of the question now.
For Los Angeles, this is another blow to a starting rotation that currently has more pitchers on the injured list (seven) than the active roster (five). Here is the team’s rotation depth chart at the moment:
RHP Tyler Glasnow(suffered setback Friday)- RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto
LHP Clayton Kershaw(on injured list with bone spur in toe)- RHP Jack Flaherty
- RHP Walker Buehler
RHP Gavin Stone(on injured list with shoulder inflammation)RHP Tony Gonsolin(rehabbing from Tommy John surgery)RHP Dustin May(will miss 2024 with Tommy John and esophageal surgery)RHP River Ryan(will miss rest of 2024 with Tommy John surgery)RHP Emmet Sheehan(will miss 2024 with Tommy John surgery)- RHP Bobby Miller
- RHP Landon Knack
- LHP Justin Wrobleski
Yamamoto rejoined the rotation earlier this week after missing three months with a rotator cuff strain. He struck out eight in four innings of one-run ball and looked sharp, though he was limited to 59 pitches as he continues to build up after the injury. It’s unclear whether Kershaw — and now Glasnow — will return before the postseason.
The Dodgers are one game behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the National League’s best record and two games up on the Milwaukee Brewers for the NL’s No. 2 seed. The top two seeds in each league get a bye and the Dodgers need it maybe more than any other team. The bye would give them five days to get their pitching in order, and maybe get a little healthier too.
When healthy, Glasnow has pitched to a 3.49 ERA with 168 strikeouts in 22 starts and 134 innings this season, his first with the Dodgers. Those 134 innings are his most since throwing 155 1/3 innings in 2017. Glasnow had Tommy John surgery in Aug. 2021, so renewed elbow trouble is worrisome.
Pitching injuries have been a constant problem for the Dodgers the last several seasons. They have not had a pitcher throw even 150 innings in a season since 2021.
