The Los Angeles Dodgers made several moves to address their starting rotation this offseason, including by trading for Tyler Glasnow in a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. L.A. also acquired Manuel Margot, with Ryan Pepiot and Jonny DeLuca heading the other way.
Glasnow, a Southern California native, said it was a longtime dream to play for the Dodgers and signed a five-year, $136.5 million contract extension that will keep him in L.A. for the foreseeable future.
Glasnow grew up a Dodgers fan and named some of his favorite players as a kid. “Shawn Green I really loved a lot,” Glasnow said.
“And then I was a bit older, but the most memorable was watching Clayton Kershaw pitch because he was like 20 in the Big Leagues, and I was just like, ‘This is insane.’ So I was obsessed watching him.
“And I just remember watching games with my dad in the backyard and that was always like a very vivid memory for me.”
Green played in five seasons with the Dodgers from 2000-2004 and put up productive numbers as he had back-to-back 40-home run seasons and was selected to the 2002 MLB All-Star Game.
Kershaw has been a staple of the Dodgers rotation since his MLB debut in 2008 and will be returning for a 17th season after reportedly agreeing to a new one-year contract that includes a player option for 2025.
The left-hander is expected to be sidelined until at least the second half of the 2024 season while recovering from shoulder surgery, but will get to be teammates with Glasnow for the first time in his career.
Tyler Glasnow’s family was ‘super excited’ by Dodgers trade
Glasnow said his family was thrilled to learn that he will pitching for his hometown team this season. “They’re super excited,” Glasnow said of his parents’ reaction to the trade.
“My parents live in Arizona now, my brother and his wife live in Santa Barbara, but I have a lot of cousins in Santa Clarita still and a lot of friends.
“It’s just been overwhelming. Everyone has reached out, said a lot of nice stuff. My family is ecstatic. They were like, ‘Get a big house so we can all come stay with you.’
“I’m sure I’m going to see them a lot. It’ll be an awesome experience to play for my dream team, see my family more and not be across the country more.”
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