Of all the injuries the Los Angeles Dodgers have absorbed throughout the season, none arguably is more impactful than losing Tyler Glasnow to a right elbow sprain.
Glasnow previously missed time this year because of lower back tightness, but it was a minor issue and served as an opportunity to get him rest during a season in which he was on track to shatter a career high for innings pitched.
Then came right elbow tendinitis in the middle of August that Glasnow initially anticipated making a quick recovery from. That process wound up being delayed but the 31-year-old started to make some headway and was poised to face batters in a key step last week.
It never came to be, however, as Glasnow stopped throwing as he warmed up for the simulated game. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed in the ensuing days that Glasnow wouldn’t pitch again in 2024 because of a right elbow sprain.
“Toward the end of my warm ups, like the last few, I felt it,” Glasnow recalled in his first comments since going on the injured list.
“It’s hard to explain, but just not right structurally. It was just like something weird. I don’t know. Just not like a comfortable feeling. You always have to go through stuff as a pitcher, but it’s just a different feeling. Nothing too crazy.
“I just thought it would be a good time to shut it down, but it was probably like the last five throws. I kind of felt something in there and wanted to say something, and that was the end. … I just knew how it felt, it would have just kind of been dumb to keep throwing on it.
“I think especially within a live BP. I’m glad I didn’t keep throwing on it right there though.”
It was a crushing development for Glasnow, who has pushed back on the perception of being injury prone. He did undergo Tommy John surgery in August 2021, which Glasnow and the Dodgers were confident solved his recurring elbow issues.
“It’s just like, exhausting, I guess. I’ve just done this so many times,” Glasnow said. “I think it’s like, you go about it the first time, and you try to find other ways to prevent it the future. And that happens again, and you try to find more ways to prevent it, and it’s just kind of like over and over again.
“It’s extremely frustrating. I guess for me, sometimes it’s easier if you get a silver lining. This sucks. And I think this one is just a lot tougher just because I’ve done so many things in the past to try to stay healthy.
“And I think at the time now, I’m here, I wanted to come here to win a World Series and pitch in the postseason, and it’s like, right at the time where I’ve just been told I can’t do that. So this one sucks the most for sure.”
Tyler Glasnow’s elbow sprain
Roberts previously conveyed the surgically-repaired ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in Glasnow’s right elbow was not damaged as part of his sprain.
Glasnow did not divulge if a potential surgery has been discussed, nor did he offer any other details.
“Just all I’ve known, too, is an elbow sprain,” Glasnow said. I haven’t gotten a full rundown much, to be honest. “Kind of secondhand reports.”
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