The Los Angeles Dodgers made an aggressive move to bolster their starting rotation during the offseason by not only trading for Tyler Glasnow but ensuring terms of the deal with the Tampa Bay Rays included an opportunity to agree on a contract extension as well.
The 30-year-old received a new contract with the Dodgers because of his upside and raw stuff he brings to the rotation. Since 2018, Glasnow has the fourth-highest strikeouts per nine innings, fourth-lowest batting average allowed and 11th-best FIP among qualified starters.
“I think with Tyler, considering he came from the Rays, there’s a lot of things we think a lot alike and see things pretty similarly,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently said.
“And also the fact that he’s been in the big leagues for quite some time. So there’s not as much opportunity as we see in some other players, so I think for us, it’s just kind of building off what he did last year. That was the most innings he’s ever thrown.
“So just continuing to have the dialogue, keep him healthy and know that if he’s healthy, he’s going to perform. Very cerebral. I’ve already learned early that he does a lot of homework. He knows his strengths and what he’s good at, and appreciates the hitter’s weaknesses as well. So how he attacks each hitter and goes into games, it’s very evident to me that he’s very mindful.
“For me right now, it’s his body awareness, his awareness of his mechanics and the thing that excites me, the dialogue with him, Connor (McGuiness) and Mark (Prior), has been fantastic. Kind of opening up the curtain, the hood on him, makes this process of learning each other work quicker. So that’s been good too.”
The Dodgers have a recent memory of facing Glasnow in the 2020 World Series, so Roberts certainly was already aware of his high-power arsenal.
“Obviously it’s a plus-fastball, it’s plus-characteristics,” Roberts said. “Thinking back to 2020, it was trying to get on the fastball, because it’s an elite fastball with a big extension. Then you bake in the changeup and curveball, so he’s got weapons to get right and left out.
“Even talking to Mookie (Betts) this winter once we made the deal, he was very grateful because that’s one of those guys he didn’t really look forward to facing.”
The Dodgers banking on Glasnow’s health and how that projects this season comes with some risk, but the confidence in signing him to an extension is a strong indicator of how they feel in that venture.
Dodgers ace Tyler Glasnow
While Glasnow’s talent and potential is not in question, one area for improvement is making more starts each year.
“I think the next step is the volume,” Roberts said. I think he’s also being mindful of being a little bit better at managing the running game. Outside of that, for me, he’s a No. 1 for any team in baseball.”
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