The Los Angeles Dodgers lost yet another member of their starting rotation this week when they placed Tyler Glasnow on the 15-day injured list due to lower back tightness.
Glasnow’s IL stint was backdated to July 6 but it nevertheless ruled him out from starting Thursday in the series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies. It’s also going to prevent Glasnow from potentially pitching in his first career All-Star Game.
Cincinnati Reds ace Hunter Greene was named the injury replacement for Glasnow on the National League team.
As for matters with the Dodgers, they envision activating Glasnow for his return in the finale of a weekend series with the Boston Red Sox or to face the San Francisco Giants, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com
The Dodgers fully expect Glasnow to be ready to pitch shortly after the break either on July 21 against the Red Sox or July 22 against the Giants.
While the Dodgers have heavily leaned on Glasnow to be the ace of their pitching staff, they planned on providing him with some sort of break this season, and his back trouble coupled with the All-Star break coming up on the schedule amounted to an opportune time:
“It sort of lined up with the All-Star break,” Roberts said. “We obviously were thinking about that, with no real idea when it might or might not happen. But with the back flareup, we just felt this is as good a time as any.”
Should Glasnow return within one of the Dodgers’ first two series after the break, it will amount to the 30-year-old only having missed one start.
Glasnow threw six innings in his last outing and allowed five runs to the Milwaukee Brewers. His struggles in the outing were limited to just the fourth inning, when Glasnow gave up a grand slam and allowed all five runs.
Overall this season he’s 8-5 with a 3.47 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in 18 starts. Glasnow leads the NL with 143 strikeouts that also rank second overall, trailing only Garrett Crochet (146 strikeouts) of the Chicago White Sox.
Tyler Glasnow benefitting from injured list?
Glasnow has pitched 109 innings this season, which is the third-highest total of his career. He set a career high with 120 innings for the Tampa Bay Rays last year and otherwise surpassed 100 just one other time — in 2018 — with 111.2.
Glasnow is on track to shatter his career high for innings pitched this year, even with the back injury. The break in the schedule could ultimately bode well for Glasnow as the Dodgers look to manage his workload heading into the postseason.
Roberts had previously indicated the Dodgers planned on providing their ace with some sort of break down the stretch of the season.
This is the first time in Glasnow’s career he’s been put on the injured list because of a back issue. Glasnow previously has dealt with right forearm, right elbow and left oblique injuries.
