The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Tyler Glasnow in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays prior to the 2024 season and immediately gave him a five-year, $136.5 million contract extension to lead the top of their rotation that season.
Glasnow regularly showed off his dynamic ability on the mound the Dodgers were hoping for, but right elbow tendinitis ended his 2024 season prematurely. Durability was the top concern when the Dodgers traded for Glasnow, and it was an issue he looked to address during the offseason.
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He’s hoping that a new approach to training will yield some positive results for and improved health this season.
As his 2025 debut looms, Glasnow was pleased with his preparation during Spring Training, which included adjusting his delivery and a refined curveball grip.
Glasnow gained a lot more feel for his curveball, which has more of an emphasis on vertical break rather than horizontal, after working on it throughout the spring.
“I think over the last couple years it’s gotten more slurvey, and I’ve changed the grip on it a little bit to try and spike it to keep it a little more vertical,” he explained. “And just the confidence with it has gone up a lot. It’s not a new pitch, but it just feels easier for me to throw. Everything right now is feeling timed up and good.”
The adjustment to his delivery is more of a mindset rather than a full mechanical change. In short, Glasnow’s focus has been on trying to be less robotic in his mechanics. He instead wants to trust his athleticism to get his body where it needs to be without having to consciously force it.
“I’m more external focus. If I’m trying to bury a slider, I’m like, ‘Alright, I need to go bury a slider.’ As opposed to being, ‘How did that last one feel? It felt a little rotational.’ I’m trying to align everything correctly. If it doesn’t line up well in practice, it kind of leaks into the game,” Glasnow said.
“I think if I get good reps and think about what I need to do in practice, then I get my body into a good spot and it’s easier to not think about it. It’s not like that every time. It’s going to happen. Every starting pitcher has times where they have to grind and figure it out on the mound. I think as long as I can have an external focus as opposed to thinking about all my body parts, it usually goes a lot better for me.
“I’ve been feeling pretty good. I think just working on stuff in practice and kind of forgetting about it and trying to go be athletic has been good for me this spring.”
Tyler Glasnow hoping to avoid right elbow injury
Glasnow also believes this adjustment to his delivery will have an added bonus of helping him stay healthy throughout the season.
“I think so. I think anytime you can repeat your mechanics and not have a conscious thought where everything is changing each pitch, I think it will put me in a much better place,” he said.
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