Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are the talk of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ spring training camp.
After all, the team spent more than a billion dollars between them, and they are expected to carry the lineup and the rotation, respectively (with Ohtani joining the pitching staff in 2025).
But MLB insider Bob Nightengale implied that fans shouldn’t forget about another offseason addition in LA: Tyler Glasnow.
The team dedicated important resources to trade for Glasnow and then extend him.
He is so important to the staff that he has been named the Opening Day starter, for the Seoul Series game against the San Diego Padres on March 20.
In his most recent start, on Tuesday, the right-hander was magnificent.
Tyler Glasnow comes out for one more batter, so 5.1 hitless innings, as he leaves to huge ovation https://t.co/pt52DFLHmt
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 12, 2024
Glasnow has been almost perfect in spring training play, with a 0.90 ERA.
On Tuesday, he was untouchable, with 5.1 hitless frames and eight strikeouts.
He also walked just one batter.
In a career-high 120 innings last year with the Tampa Bay Rays, Glasnow posted a 3.53 ERA and struck out a whopping 162 hitters.
He is, when healthy, one of the single most dominant starters in the league.
The problem is just that: health.
He has been particularly prone to injuries over the course of his career.
The Dodgers are fine with that, though: they don’t need him to pitch 210 innings per season.
They need him to be at his best for however long he goes every start.
With him, the Dodgers are looking for per-inning brilliance, because they have the depth to endure a hypothetical absence.
The goal is to have him up and running when it’s playoff time, because he can really make a difference there.
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