Dave Roberts' premature Glasnow update backfiring makes Dodgers look lost on pitching

On Thursday, the Dodgers delivered some grim Tyler Glasnow news: they would be shutting him down from throwing for the next 10-14 days after he went onto the IL with shoulder inflammation. That was generally to be expected given the weirdness of his injury, and the Dodgers have been clearly confused about the root cause of it.

He was pulled from his April 20 start against the Rangers after four innings with a leg cramp, and then after one against the Pirates on April 27 with shoulder discomfort. He went onto the IL for the latter reason, but he also told reporters that he was feeling soreness throughout his body.

Dave Roberts made a claim that the Dodgers had to quickly walk back on Thursday. Before the team decided they were shutting Glasnow down, Roberts told the media that the issue was "probably not" long-term.

Optimistically, we could say that maybe 10-14 days fits within Roberts' definition of "not long-term." But that's how long he'll be shut down for. Pessimistically, it could read as a strange crossing of wires and more evidence that the Dodgers really have no idea what's wrong with Glasnow.

Dave Roberts characterizes Tyler Glasnow's injury as "probably not" long-term immediately before Dodgers shut him down

No one really knows what's going on with Blake Snell, either. He's had multiple MRIs, none of which have showed signs of structural damage, but he's still in pain and being treated accordingly. He was also shut down recently.

If Glasnow is able to start throwing again in two weeks, he'll still need to work through a throwing progression and then go on a rehab assignment, which could put his return as late as six weeks from now, depending on how quickly he can bounce back. If Snell gets stuck with the same timeline, the Dodgers won't seem either of them for quite some time. That seems pretty long-term.

The Dodgers will get the rotation back to five when Clayton Kershaw comes back in mid-May, but they should ideally have six. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been electric so far this year, but the Dodgers are going to want to treat him even more carefully considering the Snell and Glasnow injuries. Roki Sasaki can't be asked to do too much since he's brand new to MLB, and Dustin May could very well be felled by a light breeze.

Even if we give Roberts the benefit of the doubt and say that he wouldn't qualify 1.5-2 months as "long-term" (which it objectively is), it still represents a potential miscommunication and isn't a good sign the Dodgers have a clear answer.