How can Dodgers recover if Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow miss major time with injury?

Tyler Glasnow joined Blake Snell on the Dodgers' IL on Monday, after dealing with "whole body soreness" (?) and ultimately going down with shoulder inflammation (the same issue Snell's dealing with). Glasnow became the 13th pitcher to hit the Dodgers' IL when it became official. In his absence, they staged a bullpen game on Tuesday ahead of Tony Gonsolin's first start since August 2023.

Even with Gonsolin back, that'll leave the Dodgers with just four starters when, early into spring training, they were trying to whittle down to five thanks to a surplus of arms. Despite their best efforts, the Dodgers have ended up exactly where they were before the 2024 trade deadline and down the stretch into the postseason — missing starters with no clear timelines to return and a heavy reliance on the bullpen.

Shoulder inflammation is notoriously hard to come back from and tends to leave team doctors scratching their heads. Snell was shut down from throwing last week and you never know with Glasnow, who is infuriatingly breakable.

Gonsolin coming back should lend the Dodgers some relief, but they've also refused to start any of their pitchers without an extra day of rest this season. How are they going to cope if Snell and Glasnow are out for the long haul?

Dodgers look like they're in big trouble if Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow get stuck on the IL

The Dodgers can, and probably will, exhaust their internal solutions first. Tuesday's bullpen game could be the first of many, and Dave Roberts has said the Dodgers would be willing to stretch rookie Ben Casparius as a temporary starter. Casparius has been solid out of the bullpen, but if he doesn't pan out, the Dodgers' Triple-A depth options — Justin Wrobleski, Landon Knack, and Bobby Miller — are far from trustworthy.

Clayton Kershaw is also expected to rejoin the team in mid-May, which isn't terribly far off, but he's another guy the Dodgers will want to treat carefully and give at least an extra day between his starts.

There's always the possibility of a trade, but that would be a last resort. Trying to pull of a massive deal for a quality starter in late April/early May would just highlight the Dodgers' desperation and probably lead them to pay more than they actually should.

So, for now, we should expect bullpen games (and most likely, reliever injuries, because isn't that always the way?) and maybe Wrobleski, Knack, or Miller resurfacing in the majors. It's pretty bleak.