Injury-riddled Dodgers could benefit from quiet push to reintroduce banned substance

The Dodgers have already used 35 different pitchers this season, which means it's basically guaranteed that they break through the 40-pitcher ceiling they established last year. Injuries have been worse than ever for LA — Blake Snell is out, Roki Sasaki is out, Blake Treinen is out, Evan Phillips is out and had Tommy John — and there are seemingly no real solutions in sight, despite a reported internal audit.

There are probably a few causes for this spike, but the biggest one is obvious: pitchers are throwing harder, which is tougher on the body. However, there also have to be other factors at play here (that definitely aren't the pitch clock).

Rangers physician Keith Meister is looking for a way to help smaller-market teams, who can't just buy ever more replacement pitchers like the Dodgers can, mitigate pitching injuries. The Rays' called on 40+ pitchers from 2021-2023, and the Marlins used 45 last year.

Among other things, Meister found that two-seam fastballs create far less strain on a pitcher's elbow, and the Rays have adjusted accordingly, seeing fewer injuries. However, he's also hopeful that tack — now a banned substance — will eventually be reintroduced, and said that Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the Dodgers' team physician, agrees on this point.

Dodgers, Rangers physicians hopeful MLB will reauthorize use of sticky substances to mitigate pitching injuries

Back when Tyler Glasnow was with the Rays, he weighed in on MLB's ban on foreign substances, which was introduced in June 2021. He pointed out that the lack of anything to help grip on the ball put an incredible amount of extra strain on his elbow, which could've led to his Tommy John later that year.

"Just let guys use a little bit of pine tar on their fingertips," Meister said. "Not put it on the baseball, not glob the baseball with it, but put a little pine tar on their fingertips and give them a little better adherence to the baseball."

MLB's response would probably be that allowing it — but only allowing a little — would be difficult to enforce. While that might be true, some of the best sports physicians in the country seem to agree that reintroducing it would be beneficial to players' overall health, which should take precedent.

Although Meister is trying to help smaller-market teams first and foremost, the Dodgers would be able piggyback off of any real push, no matter where it's coming from. Even though they can afford to replace pitchers basically whenever they want to, the numbers make it pretty obvious that the Dodgers need something to change more than anyone.