
by Cary Osborne
The trade that sent veteran starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow to the Dodgers on Saturday affected him in his heart and his head.
The memories of his youth returned.
He grew up an hour’s drive from Dodger Stadium in Santa Clarita where he was the ace at Hart High School. He admired Shawn Green’s power, and he later marveled at the dominance of a young Clayton Kershaw, hoping to one day pitch on the same mound at Dodger Stadium.
That will be a reality in 2024 and beyond, with Glasnow pitching for the Dodgers and wearing the №31 of his youth.
The good feelings have returned for the right-hander, who knew being traded this offseason was a good possibility. The Dodgers acquired him on Saturday in a deal that also brought veteran outfielder Manuel Margot to Los Angeles.
“There was a short list of teams that I wanted to go to, and the Dodgers were on it,” Glasnow said. “And they were very bullish on trying to get me, and I really appreciated the fact that they thought so highly of me. I get to go home. I have all my family there, and it just seemed like a no-brainer to me. I’m glad we got it done.”
But it’s the good feelings in his right arm that build more excitement for the pitcher and the team.
Glasnow, an eight-year veteran and one of baseball’s top prospects before arriving in the Majors in 2016, has long been a high-upside pitcher. The 6-foot-8-inch pitcher’s elite extension makes him one of the most uncomfortable at-bats in the Majors, and add to that one of the most devastating curveballs. The results have included one of the game’s top strikeout rates since 2019 and a sub-.200 opponents’ batting average since 2019.
But the 30-year-old acknowledged on Monday how health has limited him since that season.
He had Tommy John surgery in August 2021.
He made it back on a Major League mound on May 27 last season. The 2023 season was his first with at least 20 starts (he made 21), and he reached 120 innings for the first time.
The surgery was a boost.
“It’s just a night-and-day difference, and it was so nice to not wake up and have soreness and be able to throw and warm up quick and not have to do a million things to get my arm ready,” Glasnow said. “So it’s definitely a positive.”
Glasnow said he first started to experience trouble with the elbow in 2019. It flared up again in 2020 and then finally in 2021.
Glasnow had a 3.53 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and struck out 162 batters in 120 innings in 2023. He started Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series against the Rangers.
The Dodgers, who were looking for veteran starting pitching this offseason, saw in Glasnow a special combination — the track record on the mound and frontline starter potential, the stuff, his work ethic and relatability with teammates.
What he showed after the surgery also foretells that the best Tyler Glasnow may be ahead.
“He’s understanding his body and our group knows that the combination of his work ethic and curiosity getting that all together is a good recipe for future success,” said Dodger General Manager Brandon Gomes.
Glasnow signed a five-year extension with the Dodgers as part of the trade that sent right-handed pitcher Ryan Pepiot and outfielder Jonny Deluca to Tampa Bay.
Glasnow’s visions of pitching on the same mound as past heroes now include pitching with Shohei Ohtani as his teammate for the long term. Beyond the offensive benefits, Ohtani’s 10-year deal with the Dodgers gives Glasnow a potential rotation mate after 2024.
“I’m ecstatic,” Glasnow said. “I think I’ve watched the Dodgers from afar for so long, and then even last year, the team was so good. And then when Shohei signed it was that immediate, ‘Man, I’m going to be on that team.’
“I just want to pick his brain, obviously, and just know what he’s learned. He just seems like such a cool dude and probably one of the best baseball players to ever live. I want to be on a field with that guy, and I’m just extremely excited.”
The other lure is winning, which Glasnow is accustomed to doing.
The Rays made the postseason each season since 2019, and Glasnow started 10 postseason games for the team. He started two games in the 2020 World Series against the Dodgers.
Now he is a big part of the plan for helping the Dodgers win another.
“That’s kind of the evolution of a baseball player — you get on a team and you’re worried about your service time, and you then want to sign a contract,” Glasnow said. “And then once you take care of a lot of the things that you can, the only really thing that matters, to me anyway, is just winning a World Series. And I think the team we’re on has an extremely good chance to do it.”
Tyler Glasnow’s past, present and future converge in Los Angeles was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.