Tyler Glasnow is finally moving forward after a long stretch on the shelf, and the latest sign is a bullpen session over the weekend that suggests the Dodgers right-hander is edging closer to a return.
Glasnow has been out for more than two months because of a back issue that first flared up when he left a game in May with back spasms. What was expected to be a shorter absence has dragged on, with setbacks repeatedly interrupting his comeback attempt.
This time, though, the progress has held long enough for him to take another step. Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said Glasnow’s bullpen work showed the kind of velocity the club knows he can still produce.
“It was like 95, 96 [mph] in his ‘pen, but he does that rolling out of bed when he’s healthy,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said to the Los Angeles Times. “But it’s a good sign.”
Prior also said the recovery plan has started to settle into a more stable rhythm after the stop-and-start nature of the last couple of months.
“The schedule is starting to move with a little bit more consistency than it had been,” Prior said. “So he’s in a good spot.”
Glasnow’s back problem has been especially stubborn because of the way his 6-foot-8 frame puts extra pressure on his body every time he throws. That has made the injury linger far longer than anyone wanted, especially after it was initially viewed as something routine.
The Dodgers have seen him try to build back up before. He had started playing catch twice over the last two months, only to have the back issue return and force the team to shut him down again.
Manager Dave Roberts said the pattern has been frustrating, but the goal now is to create enough of a foundation that Glasnow can keep progressing without another interruption.
"I think there’s been times where he’s played catch, thrown 'pens and then feels good until he doesn’t," manager Dave Roberts said. "The back is a little tricky. Hopefully, he comes in feeling good, and then when he keeps throwing his 'pens, we keep moving the needle.
"But we’re trying to get a good base so we don’t have a setback, because, obviously, now in the middle of the season, setbacks are going to be hard to overcome."
The Dodgers are expecting Glasnow back in the second half of the season, with late August looking like the most likely target. He is still behind Blake Snell in the recovery process, but both pitchers are working their way back.
Before the injury, Glasnow was pitching like a major rotation piece again. In seven starts, he went 3-0 with a 2.72 ERA and 49 strikeouts.
Los Angeles has enough depth to survive the regular season, but the stakes rise later. The Dodgers need Glasnow and Snell for October, and the team’s push for a three-peat makes getting both arms back even more important.
Glasnow knows the clock is ticking, and he made clear how badly he wants to get back on the mound.
“I want to get back to throwing and get going. I just have to make sure those symptoms are gone and I’m not going to hurt it again," Glasnow said.
"The second time, it became more about the overall big picture. That doesn’t mean for me I’m just going to sit down and take my time.
I definitely can’t sit out any more than I’m supposed to. It’s driving me [expletive] crazy."
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