Dodgers playoff hopes take massive hit after Tyler Glasnow injury setback

This is potentially a worst-case scenario for Los Angeles.

Philadelphia Phillies v Los Angeles Dodgers
Philadelphia Phillies v Los Angeles Dodgers / Harry How/GettyImages

Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow hasn't appeared in a game since Aug. 11, and it's starting to sound like he won't appear in another one before the end of the 2024 season.

Glasnow was supposed to pitch a simulated game Friday as he continues to recover from elbow tendinitis, but he felt discomfort in his elbow while he was warming up, and the Dodgers shut him down.

"It's a setback," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said (via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic).

The hope was that a successful simulated game Friday would allow Glasnow to skip a minor league rehab assignment and rejoin the Dodgers next week. Now, his availability for the rest of the regular season – and potentially the postseason – is in question.

Needless to say, this is a massive blow to a battered Los Angeles starting rotation that currently has more pitchers on the injured list (seven) than the active roster (five). Four Dodgers pitchers are recovering from Tommy John surgery, while Gavin Stone remains on the IL with shoulder inflammation and Clayton Kershaw deals with bone spurs in his toe. Their respective return timelines remain unclear.

Dodgers playoff hopes take massive hit after Tyler Glasnow injury setback

When healthy, Glasnow has pitched to a 3.49 ERA with 168 strikeouts in 22 starts and 134 innings this season, his first with the Dodgers. Those 134 innings are his most since throwing 155 1/3 innings in 2017. Glasnow had Tommy John surgery in 2021, which makes his elbow injury all the more concerning. It's an unfortunate continuation of the pitching injuries that have plagued the Dodgers all season, with 17 different pitchers making at least one start for the club in 2024.

The Dodgers have 16 games remaining and the regular season ends two weeks from Sunday. They are one game behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the National League's best record and three games up on the Milwaukee Brewers for the NL's No. 2 seed.

The top two seeds in each league get a bye in the first round of the playoffs, and the Dodgers may need it maybe more than any other team. Five extra days could go a long way in shoring up their pitching staff and making sure they're healthy enough for a deep postseason run.

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