PHILADELPHIA —The blows keep coming for the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation, as the club placed All-Star right-hander Tyler Glasnow on the injured list Tuesday citing a back issue.
Glasnow, acquired and extended this past winter, is not expected to miss significant time, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. The 30-year-old’s back tightened up while playing catch Sunday but will not require an MRI, Roberts said.
The Dodgers recalled RHP Michael Petersen from Triple-A and placed RHP Tyler Glasnow on the injured list with lower back tightness, retroactive to July 6.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 9, 2024
The right-hander was named an All-Star for the first time Sunday after a first half where he tallied a 3.47 ERA and a National League-leading 143 strikeouts. Cincinnati Reds right-hander Hunter Greene will take his place on the All-Star roster.
The timing, however, fits well for a pitcher who is already bumping up on the biggest workload of his career. Glasnow has tallied 109 innings in his 18 starts for Los Angeles and is one of just three pitchers who has not missed a start (Gavin Stone, James Paxton); Glasnow’s previous career high was 120, which he completed last year with the Tampa Bay Rays.
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In acquiring Glasnow this winter, both the player and organization waved off the right-hander’s previous injury history, which saw him total 100 innings in a season just twice and make 20 starts just once in his career. That, they said, was tied to Glasnow’s elbow that has since been surgically repaired.
The back issue is an “isolated” incident, Roberts said.
By placing Glasnow on the injured list ahead of the All-Star break, he could potentially miss just one start during his two-week respite. Given his proximity to his previous career-best totals, a break may have been inevitable.
“It sort of lined up with the All-Star break,” Roberts said. “We obviously were thinking about (a break), with no real idea when it might or might not happen. But with the back flare up, we just felt this is as good of a time as any.”
The Dodgers aren’t expected to have any hard cap on Glasnow’s innings. The right-hander said Sunday he felt fine physically. Roberts said Tuesday the organization has not noticed any signs of fatigue out of Glasnow, citing his 4.37 ERA since the start of June as more a matter of poor execution than anything else.
How Los Angeles fills the immediate innings clarified some Tuesday. Justin Wrobleski, who made his major-league debut Sunday, remained with the big-league club in Philadelphia and could be an option to start in Glasnow’s place this weekend in Detroit.
The club has already had to dig deeper into their pitching depth than expected by July – but that’s at the cost of having 12 different pitchers on the injured list with Glasnow’s placement. The next-closest option is Clayton Kershaw, who faced hitters Sunday and will make a rehab start Saturday.
After two of those, he could be an option as he returns from offseason shoulder surgery.
Another depth option is also on the mend: Kyle Hurt has been shut down from throwing due to elbow soreness, according to a league source. He exited his most recent outing with Triple-A Oklahoma City with a trainer after facing just two hitters.
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Hurt, 26, previously missed several months with shoulder inflammation after making the Opening Day roster as a reliever.
“I’m unfazed by it,” Roberts said of the injuries. “You just pick up the pieces, or whatever pieces you have, and you have to readjust and move forward. Our guys are being very nimble…It’s just keep whatever guys we have ready, try to win a baseball game. It’s certainly not ideal. But my job is to keep this thing moving forward.”
Required reading
- Reds’ Hunter Greene named All-Star for first time as replacement for Tyler Glasnow
- Three Dodgers takeaways: The 6 All-Stars, Justin Wrobleski’s debut and more
(Photo: Michael Owens / Getty Images)
