Tyler Glasnow battled persistent elbow issues for 3 years in Tampa Bay earlier than his ulnar collateral ligament gave out in 2021, the 6-foot-8 right-hander present process Tommy John surgical procedure that August during which the alternative ligament was strengthened with an inside brace.
When Glasnow returned to go 10-7 with a 3.53 ERA and 162 strikeouts in 21 begins for the Rays in 2023, lacking two months due to an indirect pressure however experiencing no vital arm accidents, he was satisfied his elbow points have been lastly behind him.
All of which made the frustration in his voice much more palpable on Friday as Glasnow mentioned his newest setback, an elbow sprain that can knock him out of the playoffs in his first season with the Dodgers after final December’s commerce from Tampa Bay.
“It’s just, like, exhausting,” stated Glasnow, who signed a five-year, $136.5-million extension with the Dodgers. “I’ve just done this so many times. When it happens the first time, you try to find ways to prevent it in the future. Then it happens again, and you try to find more ways to prevent it. And it’s just like, over and over again.
“I wanted to come here and pitch in the postseason and win a World Series, and right at the time when [I would be gearing up for playoffs], I’ve just been told I can’t do that. So this one sucks the most, for sure.”
Glasnow went 9-6 with a 3.49 ERA in 22 begins this season, reaching profession highs in strikeouts (168) and innings pitched (134) earlier than occurring the 15-day injured checklist due to elbow discomfort on Aug. 16.
Glasnow resumed throwing a couple of weeks later and gave the impression to be trending up after two encouraging bullpen periods, however after warming as much as face batters in a two-inning simulated sport in Atlanta on Sept. 13, Glasnow walked from the bullpen mound to the clubhouse, telling Dodgers coaches he felt discomfort in his elbow.
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“Toward the end of my warmups, my last five throws, I felt something wasn’t right structurally,” stated Glasnow, 31. “It was something weird. You always go through stuff as a pitcher, but it was a different feeling. Nothing too crazy, but I just thought it would be a good time to shut it down.”
A follow-up MRI take a look at revealed the sprain, an harm that Glasnow doesn’t consider would require surgical procedure however will sideline him for the remainder of the season.
“I felt great [up until the simulated game],” Glasnow stated. “All my bullpens were really good. Everything was coming out [good]. Stuff-wise and velo-wise, it was game-ready. I thought it was good to go, and then, I just kind of ended up not being OK.”
Glasnow missed a while across the All-Star break due to a again harm, however he stated his elbow felt superb up till his final two begins in early August, when he was “kind of getting out of whack mechanically,” he stated. “It felt like regular soreness, nothing crazy.”
Glasnow stated he has been informed by a number of biomechanical specialists and coaches that his pitching mechanics are sound, however generally he can get “a little long” in his supply, a typical downside for pitchers as tall as Glasnow.
Glasnow has averaged 7½ ft of “extension,” which quantifies how a lot nearer a pitcher’s launch level is to house plate, for the previous two seasons, effectively over the common of 6 ft, 2 inches for main league right-handers.
That often helps Glasnow’s four-seam fastball, which averaged 96.3 mph this season, play up, however whether it is placing extra pressure on his elbow, Glasnow would possibly look to chop again on that extension earlier than subsequent season.
“I have such a long extension that I might be putting stress on my arm,” Glasnow stated. “If there are ways I can maybe shorten up certain things in my delivery, or make my delivery more efficient for each start and keep it as consistent as possible over the course of the season, I’m gonna try. I want to get my arm in a good spot to relieve some of the tension in my elbow.”
