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Tyler Glasnow

Dodgers Notes: Ohtani, Yamamoto, Glasnow

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Dodgers phenom Shohei Ohtani just took the first major step towards his anticipated return to pitching next season. As noted by The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, Ohtani threw off the mound for the first time since he underwent elbow surgery just over eleven months ago. While today’s ten-pitch bullpen session won’t change the fact that Ohtani isn’t going to pitch in the majors this year, it’s the latest indicator that the league’s biggest star is well on his way to returning to two-way play in time for the Dodgers to open the 2025 regular season with a two-game set against the Cubs in Japan next year.

While Ohtani won’t throw an official pitch for the Dodgers in the first year of his record-shattering ten-year deal with the club, that hasn’t stopped the 30-year-old from being a dominant force for the club as they head for their 12th-consecutive playoff appearance. Ohtani is currently the consensus favorite for this year’s NL MVP award, which would be the third MVP of his career after he captured the AL MVP award in both 2021 and 2023 with the Angels. In 126 games with the Dodgers this year, Ohtani has slashed an incredible .292/.378/.614 (170 wRC+) across 578 trips to the plate. He became just the sixth player in MLB history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a season last night, joining Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, and Ronald Acuna Jr.

That dominant offensive performance has allowed Ohtani to emerge as the most consistent threat in a star-studded Dodgers lineup. That’s thanks in part to his sturdiness; while fellow superstars Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman have both missed time this year, Ohtani has appeared in 126 of the Dodgers’ 129 games, leaving him tied with Teoscar Hernandez for the club lead in games played this year. With the surging Diamondbacks and Padres sitting just 3.5 and 4.5 games back respectively of L.A. in the race of the NL West, the Dodgers figure to continue leaning on Ohtani to lead their offense to their 11th NL West title in the past 12 years.

More from the Dodgers…

  • While Ohtani sets his sights on returning to the mound in 2025, his fellow nine-figure free agent addition from this past offseason is hoping to pitch in the majors much sooner than that. Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto is making significant progress toward a return to action after being sidelined by a rotator cuff strain back in June. According to MLB.com’s Injury Tracker, Yamamoto threw a two-inning simulated game earlier this week and is scheduled to throw his next bullpen session on Monday. Should that session go well, manager Dave Roberts indicated to reporters yesterday that Yamamoto would be in line to begin a rehab assignment this coming Wednesday. The 25-year-old righty was as-advertised in 14 starts prior to the injury this year with a 2.92 ERA and 2.68 FIP with an excellent 27.9% strikeout rate in 74 innings of work to this point in his big league career. [UPDATE: Roberts said on Sunday that Yamamoto will indeed start his rehab assignment at Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday.]
  • The future is significantly murkier regarding the Dodgers’ third major offseason addition, however, as manager Dave Roberts today described the rehab plan for right-hander Tyler Glasnow as a “slow process” to reporters (including Ardaya). The righty was placed on the 15-day injured list just last week due to elbow tendinitis and while Roberts relayed that he has already resumed playing catch from 60 feet, he did not provide a timeline for the hard-throwing ace’s return to action beyond saying that Glasnow’s regular season is not in jeopardy as things stand. With the Dodgers extremely well-positioned for a postseason berth headed into the regular season’s final month, it’s not necessarily a shock that the club would be extremely careful with the 31-year-old in hopes of ensuring his healthy return for the playoffs this October.

Dodgers Place Tyler Glasnow On Injured List

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The Dodgers placed Tyler Glasnow on the 15-day injured list shortly before tonight’s matchup with the Cardinals. It’s the second IL stint of the season for the lanky right-hander, who is dealing with elbow tendinitis. Rookie southpaw Justin Wrobleski was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City and will make his fifth big league start this evening.

While there had not been any indication that Glasnow was battling injury, the Dodgers announced yesterday that they were moving his scheduled start back from tonight to Saturday. As Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic observes (on X), it seems likely the Dodgers will turn to Bobby Miller to take the ball tomorrow instead. Miller has been on optional assignment since shorty before the All-Star Break but is traveling with the MLB club on the taxi squad. Miller has continued to struggle over three Triple-A starts since being demoted. He hasn’t pithed in a week, though, so he’ll likely be recalled.

There’s nothing to suggest that Glasnow is in for an extended absence. Losing him for at least two weeks is nevertheless another blow to a rotation that has gotten hit hard by injury. The Dodgers are without Yoshinobu Yamamoto because of a rotator cuff strain and have been without Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Emmet Sheehan all season. Each of Gonsolin, May and Sheehan have undergone significant arm surgeries. Top prospect River Ryan is joining them in that regard. He’s headed for Tommy John surgery and might be out until 2026.

Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler recently returned from extended injury absences. Miller lost a couple months to a shoulder problem and has looked like a shell of his rookie self since returning. The Dodgers acquired Jack Flaherty in one of the biggest deadline deals, though he’s not without health questions himself. Rookie righty Gavin Stone has stepped up as a surprisingly crucial rotation piece, taking the ball 22 times and turning in a 3.63 ERA through 121 1/3 innings.

Wrobleski’s appearance tonight is expected to be a spot start. That’d leave L.A. with a rotation of Flaherty, Stone, Kershaw, Buehler and Miller for the next few weeks. They’ll obviously hope for Glasnow to return in short order. Their offseason trade acquisition has been fantastic when healthy, working to a 3.49 ERA while striking out more than 32% of batters faced over 22 starts. This season’s 134 innings is already his career high in any major or minor league season.

Durability has long been the biggest question with Glasnow, who lost most of the 2022 season to Tommy John surgery. His IL placement early this year was a lot less concerning. Glasnow was out for a minimal 15-day stint around the All-Star Break because of lower back inflammation — an injury break that also served as a check on his escalating workload.

The Dodgers felt relatively comfortable with their place in the division at that time. Hot streaks by the Padres and Diamondbacks have closed the gap, cutting L.A.’s lead in the NL West to two games. The Dodgers remain a near lock to make the postseason, but they’re not cruising to the division title the way that most had expected.

Getting healthier by October still remains the team’s biggest priority. Their rotation was decimated by injury by the time the playoffs rolled around a year ago. They went into the postseason relying on Miller and a clearly diminished version of Kershaw who was pitching through a shoulder injury that required surgery. The Diamondbacks swept them out of the Division Series on their path to the NL pennant.

The Dodgers aren’t at last year’s panic level right now. Flaherty has pitched like a potential Game 1 starter this year. Glasnow may be back well in advance of the postseason. Yamamoto is hoping for a return late in the regular season; he threw a 17-pitch simulated game this afternoon as he starts to rebuild his arm strength (relayed on X by Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times). There’s still a path for the Dodgers running a playoff rotation comprising Glasnow, Yamamoto, Flaherty and one of Stone or Kershaw.

Los Angeles will get some help on the pitching staff tomorrow, albeit in the bullpen. DiGiovanna tweets that the team will reinstate Ryan Brasier from the 60-day injured list. The righty has been out since late April on account of a significant calf strain. L.A. already has an opening on the 40-man roster after designating Amed Rosario for assignment earlier in the week.

Dodgers To Reinstate Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow

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The Dodgers have been scrambling to fill their rotation lately but will get a couple of big reinforcements back in the coming days. Manager Dave Roberts tells reporters that right-hander Tyler Glasnow and left-hander Clayton Kershaw will each come off the injured list to start on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. Kershaw is on the 60-day IL and will need a 40-man roster spot to be opened prior to taking the ball. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times was among those to relay the news on X.

It’s a pretty big moment for Kershaw, who is coming back from the most significant absence of his career. The southpaw went under the knife in November to repair the gleno-humeral ligaments and capsule of his left shoulder. Though surgeries for pitchers have become quite commonplace in today’s baseball landscape, this was actually the first one for the veteran.

Kershaw was a workhorse earlier in his career but has had some health issues in recent seasons. From 2010 to 2015, he logged at least 198 innings for six straight years but hasn’t hit that number since. Recent years have seen him miss time here and there, often due to back issues, but the shoulder was the big concern in 2023. He somehow managed to toss 131 2/3 innings with a 2.55 earned run average despite his fastball velocity declining throughout the season but then was torched in his lone playoff start, only recording one out against the Diamondbacks while being charged with six earned runs.

The shoulder issue eventually require the aforementioned surgery in November and then he re-signed with the Dodgers in February. The deal is a two-year pact with the second season being a player option. Kershaw has a base salary of just $5MM in both years of the deal but with the ability to earn far more if he’s healthy. He gets an extra $1MM for getting to six starts, $1.5MM each for his seventh, eighth and ninth starts and then $2MM after his tenth. The Dodgers can’t get around this by using an opener, as a relief outing wherein Kershaw records at least nine outs also counts. At this point in the calendar, it’s still possible for Kershaw to unlock all of those bonuses and there are similar escalators for his 2025 option.

He began a rehab assignment by pitching three innings at the Single-A level on June 19. He was then shut down due to some shoulder soreness but Roberts downplayed the significance and Kershaw restarted his rehab assignment again more recently. He tossed three innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City last Saturday and then four innings on Friday, getting up to 67 pitches in the most recent outing. He’s now set to resume a big league career that already includes 2,712 2/3 innings with a 2.48 ERA.

Glasnow’s absence was far more mild, as he landed on the IL prior to the break due to some low back tightness, but the dual returns are significant for the Dodgers as they have had plenty of rotation challenges. Dustin May and Emmet Sheehan are each done for the year, with Tony Gonsolin likely to be in that camp as well. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has a rotator cuff strain that landed him on the 60-day IL, meaning he can’t return before mid-August. Bobby Miller struggled enough to get optioned down to the minors while Walker Buehler was ineffective before landing on the IL with a hip issue.

Amid all of those issues, the Dodgers have been using a rotation of veteran James Paxton, rookies Gavin Stone, Justin Wrobleski and Landon Knack, as well as occasional bullpen games. Getting Glasnow and Kershaw into that mix obviously helps, and the club will be promoting prospect River Ryan soon as well.

Though that group is about to be much stronger than it was heading into the All-Star break, the Dodgers are still expected to pursue rotation upgrades prior to the July 30 deadline. They have been connected to Garrett Crochet of the White Sox for weeks now and Bob Nightengale of USA Today mentions the fit again this morning, also adding that the club has interest in Tarik Skubal of the Tigers.

Though the Dodgers’ interest in Crochet has been known for a while, Nightengale adds that the Dodgers have discussed a blockbuster deal that would see them also acquire outfielder Luis Robert Jr. and maybe even reliever Michael Kopech as well. That’s not necessarily a big surprise, as teams usually discuss all kinds of various trade scenarios, with many of them not coming close to fruition.

But that does align with recent comments from president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who suggested the Dodgers would be more focused on impact additions as opposed to marginal upgrades. The club has some holes but is understandably shooting for the stars at this point. They have made the playoffs in 11 straight years now and spent wildly in the offseason, adding Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani and others. Making the postseason for a 12th straight year won’t really count as an accomplishment for the club or its fans, so aiming high at the deadline and trying for a World Series seems to be the play.

Crochet would obviously fit the bill since he’s been one of the best pitchers in the league this year with a 3.02 ERA and 35.2% strikeout rate through 20 starts. There are some concerns about his workload since he’s already thrown more innings this year than in his entire professional career prior to this campaign, but he should be able to provide an impact even if moved to some kind of relief role down the stretch.

Robert also has some durability concerns as he’s only tallied 100 games in a season once, but that one occurrence was quite impressive. He got into 145 contests for the Sox last year and hit 38 home runs, stole 20 bases and provided quality defense in center field. Injuries have been a problem before and have cropped up again this year, as he missed two months due to a right hip flexor strain. But he’s been great in his limited time, with 11 homers and 11 steals in just 45 games. His 32.6% strikeout rate is a career high but his 10.2% walk rate is almost twice his career pace.

He could fit into a Dodger outfield that has seen Mookie Betts move to the infield and then head to the injured list. Teoscar Hernández is having a good year but it’s flimsy apart from that. Andy Pages and Miguel Vargas are doing well overall but most of their damage has come against lefties. Ideally, they would be platooned with Jason Heyward, but Heyward is also on the IL. James Outman is hitting just .153/.250/.258 on the year and was optioned to the minors for a while, only getting recalled when Heyward went on the shelf. Utility players Chris Taylor, Enrique Hernández and Cavan Biggio have also struggled.

In addition to their talents, both players would be incredibly attractive due to their financial situations. Crochet is in his first arbitration season but his injury absences have limited him to a salary of $800K this year. He has two arb seasons left after this one and will be in line for a decent raises, but from a very modest base. Robert is making $12.5MM this year, far more than Crochet but still a bargain for a player of his talents. He’ll then make $15MM next year with a pair of $20MM club options after that.

Each player has significant trade value in a vacuum but it would take a massive blockbuster haul for the Dodgers to get both. Their farm system is considered strong but whether a deal can come together or not will depend on what kind of price the Sox are asking for and what other teams are offering. But at 27-73 and with a farm system that isn’t especially well regarded, it makes sense the Sox are considering trading almost anyone and it seems they are doing just that.

Kopech can’t match either Crochet or Robert in terms of huge appeal, but he would have some value in his own right. After some inconsistent results as a starter, the Sox have been using him as their closer this year with some interesting but mixed results. His 5.05 ERA isn’t going to wow anyone and his 12.7% walk rate is concerning, but he has punched out 30.9% of batters faced. He’s only making $3MM this year and can be retained via arbitration for another season after this.

As for Skubal, it’s understandable why the Dodgers or any other club would be interested. He is a Cy Young candidate this year with a 2.41 ERA, 30.8% strikeout rate, 4.6% walk rate and 47.4% ground ball rate. He’s making a modest $2.65MM and has two seasons of club control beyond this one.

But that also makes him plenty appealing to the Tigers and it’s fair to wonder how available he is. The club once seemed buried in the standings but have been hot lately, winning 11 of their last 14 and climbing to within five games of a playoff spot. Getting Skubal away from Detroit was probably going to take a haul even when they were in seller position but it’s probably become more difficult in recent weeks.

Dodgers Place Tyler Glasnow On Injured List

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The Dodgers announced that they have placed right-hander Tyler Glasnow on the 15-day injured list with lower back tightness. Righty Michael Petersen has been recalled in a corresponding move. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic previously relayed word from manager Dave Roberts on X that Glasnow would be hitting the IL since his back tightened up on Sunday and Ardaya also tweeted about Petersen’s presence in the clubhouse. Per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times on X, the team is hoping it’s a minor issue and that Glasnow could be back shortly after the All-Star break.

Around the All-Star break, teams are generally more willing to give players a stint on the IL even for something small as it can allow the player to miss fewer games than otherwise. With the four-day break coming up next week, Glasnow might only miss a couple of turns through the rotation before returning.

It’s also possible that the Dodgers are using this minor issue and the break to simply get Glasnow a bit of rest. Due to some notable injuries earlier in his career, his career high for innings pitched in a major league season is the 120 frames he pitched with the Rays last year. He’s already at 109 innings here in 2024 and will surely set a new benchmark as long as he returns from this back issue in good form and avoids any other injury stints.

By and large, the Dodgers have seemed willing to pump the brakes on the regular season workloads of their pitchers with the aim of keeping everyone healthy for later in the year and into the postseason. They have been fairly committed to giving their starters more rest than other clubs, often deploying bullpen games or spot starts in order to keep their starters from getting overworked, and this may be part of that as well.

Glasnow’s results have been strong on the year, as he has allowed 3.47 earned runs per nine frames. He has struck out 33.6% of batters faced while limiting walks to a 6.8% clip. He’s also kept 48.2% of balls in play on the ground. Despite those grounders, the home runs have been an issue, with 14% of his fly balls leaving the yard. That’s above the 11.2% league average this year but below Glasnow’s career rate of 15.5%.

In the meantime, the club will have to navigate the next portion of their schedule without those contributions. Justin Wrobleski just came up to make a spot start but is still with the club, so perhaps he will stick around to help cover for Glasnow in the rotation alongside James Paxton, Bobby Miller, Gavin Stone and Landon Knack. The club also has Ryan Yarbrough on the roster for some multi-inning relief work. Kyle Hurt is on optional assignment while prospect River Ryan is in Triple-A but not on the 40-man roster.

Fairly or unfairly, Glasnow has reputation for being injury prone but there’s nothing at this point to suggest this is anything more than a precautionary move. The Dodgers are 7.5 games up on the Padres in the West and, as mentioned, have been on the precautionary side with their pitchers all year.

Nonetheless, the constant rotating of pitchers on and off the IL will be an interesting situation to monitor. Significant rotation injuries seemed to undercut the club in the postseason last year. Currently, the club has Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Emmet Sheehan all on the injured list. Sheehan is done for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May and Gonsolin is unlikely to come back this season with his own Tommy John procedure having taken place at the start of September last year.

But the others are all candidates to return at some point in the second half, joining the current rotation mix. Even if a few of those guys suffer setbacks, the Dodgers should have more healthy rotation options in October than they did at that time last year.

NL West Notes: Glasnow, Cobb, Sewald

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Dodgers right-hander exited today’s game against the Blue Jays after being visited by the team trainer and manager Dave Roberts following the sixth inning. While the circumstances of Glasnow’s departure were surely concerning for fans in Los Angeles, Glasnow told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) that he was dealing with cramping in his right calf and right hand when he left the game. Glasnow added that he believed the incident was due to dehydration from unexpectedly humid conditions in Toronto this afternoon. Roberts went on to confirm to reporters (including Jack Harris of the L.A. Times) that the club does not have “any level of concern” regarding Glasnow’s health going forward.

The news surely comes as a relief for Dodgers fans, as Glasnow has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career. The righty made a career-high 21 starts with the Rays last year after pitching just 212 2/3 combined innings for the Rays between 2019 and 2022. Aside from his injury history, any injury scare for Glasnow would be particularly unwelcome for the club given the fact that he’s led the club’s rotation to this point in the season. Including today’s start, Glasnow has a 2.72 ERA in 43 innings of work across seven starts for the club this season with a 31.5% strikeout rate.

That dominance has been particularly welcome given the Dodgers’ lengthy list of starting pitching injuries. Each of Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Miller, Walker Buehler, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Emmett Sheehan, and Kyle Hurt are currently on the injured list, and of that group only Buehler appears to be particularly close to returning. Fortunately, it appears that Glasnow should be fine to make his next start, remaining the club’s rotation mix alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto, James Paxton, Gavin Stone, and Landon Knack.

More from the NL West…

  • The Giants recently transferred veteran hurler Alex Cobb to the 60-day injured list in the wake of the right-hander being slowed in his return from offseason hip surgery by a bout of shoulder inflammation. Per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Cobb received a cortisone shot in his shoulder on Friday and a subsequent MRI on his shoulder showed enough improvement that the club is hopeful his discomfort will fade in the coming days. Presumably, Cobb will resume throwing once the discomfort subsides. The righty will first be eligible to return from the injured list on May 27, and manager Bob Melvin indicated last week that the a minimum stay on the shelf was a “realistic” timeline for the veteran. Cobb, 36, has pitched to a 3.80 ERA with a 3.41 FIP across 56 starts with the Giants the past two seasons.
  • Diamondbacks fans received some disappointing news regarding injured closer Paul Sewald this evening, as MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert relayed that (according to GM Mike Hazen) the right-hander’s rehab process is going to be “slowed” after Sewald experienced some soreness in the aftermath of his most recent rehab appearance. Hazen added that an MRI of Sewald’s oblique showed that he’s made good progress in his recovery but that the team will be cautious to avoid aggravating the injury. Sewald, 34 next month, was acquired by Arizona from Seattle prior to last year’s trade deadline and posted a 3.12 ERA and 3.57 FIP with 34 saves in 65 appearances between the Mariners and DBacks last year. Veteran righty Kevin Ginkel has handled the closer’s role in Sewald’s absence, with Ryan Thompson and Bryce Jarvis also contributing to the late-inning mix.

MLBTR Podcast: Tyler Glasnow, Jung Hoo Lee, D-Backs’ Signings and the Braves’ Confusing Moves

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, Steve Adams joins to answer your questions, including…

  • What’s going on with Atlanta shuffling all these contracts around? (21:25)
  • Will the Mariners do anything with the payroll they jettisoned? (30:15)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Dodgers Acquire Tyler Glasnow, Manuel Margot; Glasnow Signed To Contract Extension

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December 19: Per Jon Heyman of The New York Post, the extension is actually valued at $111,562,500 over four years, with Glasnow to make $30MM from 2025 to 2027. The player option in 2028 is valued at $21,562,500, slightly higher than previous reporting. Heyman’s framing also suggests that Glasnow will choose on his option first. If he turns it down, then the Dodgers will get to decide whether or not to trigger a $30MM club option.

December 16, 3:33pm: USAToday’s Bob Nightengale relays the full contract breakdown for Glasnow, reporting that the 2028 player option is worth $21.5MM. This accounts for the previously unexplained $1.5MM discrepancy between the reported contract breakdown and the Dodgers’ announced $136.5MM figure.

12:08pm: The Dodgers and Rays finalized the four-player trade that will sent right-hander Tyler Glasnow, outfielder Manuel Margot, and $4MM in cash considerations to Los Angeles in exchange for right-hander Ryan Pepiot and outfielder Jonny Deluca.  News of the trade first broke a few days ago, with the final hurdle being the Dodgers’ ability to sign Glasnow to a contract extension.  That deal has now also been completed, with L.A. announcing that Glasnow has agreed to a new long-term pact worth $136.5MM.  Glasnow is represented by Wasserman.

As per the terms reported yesterday by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the new contract will see Glasnow earn $110MM in new money over the course of the 2025-28 seasons.  Glasnow was already slated to earn $25MM in 2024 according to the terms of his prior contract with the Rays, and the new deal with L.A. breaks down as $90MM in salary over the 2025-27 seasons, and then the Dodgers hold a $30MM club option on Glasnow’s services for 2028.  If the team declines that option, Glasnow can exercise a $20MM player option for 2028.  Since Passan’s numbers only add up to $135MM rather than the Dodgers’ announced figure of $136.5MM, that extra $1.5MM has yet to be accounted for, possibly a signing bonus or a bit of extra guaranteed money on one of the years.

Unlike Shohei Ohtani’s $700MM mega-deal with the Dodgers from last week, Glasnow’s extension doesn’t contain any deferred money.  As such, it will be entirely portioned out onto the Dodgers’ luxury tax bills based on a $27.3MM average annual value over the next five seasons.  According to Roster Resource’s calculations, Los Angeles has an estimated luxury tax number of roughly $253.7MM for 202 — still under the $257MM secondary CBT tier, thanks to all of Ohtani’s deferrals lowering his tax-related AAV to $46MM per season.  Still, with a number of roster needs still be addressed, the Dodgers’ tax bill could certainly still approach or exceed the next penalty tier of $277MM between now and Opening Day.

Glasnow has been seen as a possible trade candidate basically since the moment he inked his previous two-year, $30.35MM extension with Tampa Bay during the 2022 season.  Signed when Glasnow was recovering from Tommy John surgery, the deal saw $25MM of the salary backloaded into the 2024 season, making it likely that the cost-conscious Rays would try to unload the right-hander beforehand.

The 30-year-old’s availability dovetailed with the Dodgers’ need for pitching this winter, as the Los Angeles rotation is full of injury-related question marks (i.e. Walker Buehler, and possibly Dustin May at midseason), pitchers without much big league experience (Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan, Michael Grove, Gavin Stone), and a swingman in Ryan Yarbrough who may be best suited for bullpen duty.  Pepiot was another member of that young crop of arms, but he’ll now head to Tampa Bay as he enters his third season of MLB duty.

In moving Glasnow and Margot and factoring in the $4MM in cash considerations, the Rays unloaded $33MM worth of salary for two players making the Major League minimum, in a move reminiscent of many budget-trimming, sell-high types of trades Tampa has become known for over the years.  The Rays’ success rate in these deals is almost a cliche by this point, and even if Tampa Bay fans have become weary of the team’s continual roster churn and perpetually low-spending ways, the Rays’ ability to field competitive teams speaks for itself.  Pepiot figures to step right into the rotation spot left open by Glasnow, while Deluca may not be guaranteed a spot in the Opening Day outfield, but he’ll at least be part of the shuttle heading back and forth between Triple-A since the outfielder has two minor league option years remaining.

The right-handed hitting Margot figures to move into a part-time role in the Dodgers’ outfield picture, acting as a complement to the left-handed James Outman and Jason Heyward.  Margot has played primarily as a center fielder and right fielder, thus lining up well with Outman and Heyward’s projected positions.  Mookie Betts will be taking over as the Dodgers’ new everyday second baseman in 2024, so it’s safe to guess that L.A. will aim to add more outfield depth if Betts will be spending most of his time on the dirt.

MLB Trade Rumors’ Steve Adams broke down the Glasnow extension in larger detail yesterday, while Darragh McDonald outlined the news of the four-player trade agreement for MLBTR on Thursday.  Jack Azoulay-Haron of MLB Nerds and Bruce Kuntz of Dodgers Digest first reported the four principal players in the trade.  Jon Heyman of The New York Post first relayed that a Glasnow extension was a possibility. Jeff Passan of ESPN relayed that the deal was agreed to, contingent on the extension.  Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times first relayed the Rays’ inclusion of the $4MM in salary offset.

Gomes: Dodgers Seek Additional Starting Pitching

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The Dodgers added a playoff-caliber arm to their staff when acquiring Tyler Glasnow from the Rays, but they’re still searching for more starting pitching, general manager Brandon Gomes told reporters Monday (via Fabian Aradaya of The Athletic).

That shouldn’t come as any real surprise. Los Angeles included a member of its rotation, right-hander Ryan Pepiot, in the package to acquire Glasnow from Tampa Bay, so they didn’t really add to their depth at all in the swap. Glasnow also has a lengthy injury history, with last season’s 120 frames representing a career-high. While the Dodgers surely feel he’s an upgrade on a per-inning basis, they also can’t simply bank on Glasnow making 30 starts and occupying a workhorse role atop the rotation.

As it stands, the L.A. rotation would feature Glasnow, Walker Buehler (who’ll be on an innings limit in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery), Bobby Miller and Emmet Sheehan. Candidates for the fifth spot include Michael Grove, Gavin Stone, Ryan Yarbrough and prospects Nick Frasso and Landon Knack.

There have already been indications that the Dodgers would continue to be active in the starting pitching market, albeit none as concrete as an on-record declaration from the team’s general manager. The Dodgers have been a prominent participant in the bidding for NPB ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and they’ve also reportedly shown interest in trading for White Sox righty Dylan Cease. Other rumored targets have included free agent righties Lucas Giolito and Seth Lugo (who’s since signed with the Royals). A reunion with Clayton Kershaw remains eminently plausible, although Kershaw wouldn’t be available to pitch until next summer at the earliest.

The Dodgers are less than $2MM from the second luxury tax threshold, per Roster Resource’s projections, although their actual bottom-line payroll clocks in under $200MM thanks to deferred money not only in the Shohei Ohtani contract but also the significant deferrals in the Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman deals. As a third-time luxury payor, they’ll effectively be taxed at a 62% clip for the next $20MM they spend and a 95% clip for the $20MM after that, and 110% for any money spent thereafter.

Yamamoto’s lingering presence in free agency has continued to hold up other aspects of the market, though he’ll have to sign a deal by early January — and reports have suggested he could look to finalize a deal before Christmas. Once he’s made a decision, pitchers like Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Shota Imanaga, Marcus Stroman and Giolito could accelerate. Similarly, the White Sox (Cease) and Guardians (Shane Bieber) could increase their efforts to trade prominent starters of their own, knowing that the teams who missed on Yamamoto will be motivated to find alternate options elsewhere.

East Notes: Mets, Rays, Bautista

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The Mets are among several reported finalists for the services of right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who club owner Steve Cohen traveled to Japan to meet with earlier this month. All indications point to a very serious pursuit of the offseason’s top free agent starting pitcher, but The Athletic’s Will Sammon suggests that intense pursuit should not be taken as an indication the Mets plan to spend aggressively on long-term, top-of-the-market free agents this offseason. Sammon reports that the club views Yamamoto, 25, as something of a unique case thanks to his front-of-the-rotation potential and exceptional youth for a free agent.

Should they fail to land Yamamoto, Sammon suggests that the club doesn’t plan on pivoting to other top-of-the-market free agents such as Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery. Rather, Sammon suggests the Mets could pivot to a mid-market arm like Lucas Giolito, who the club has previously been reported to have interest in as they focus on shorter term, one- and two-year contracts to plug holes on their roster. Indications have percolated since the trade deadline that the Mets view 2024 as something of a transitory year where they hope to thread the needle between staying competitive and focusing on 2025 and beyond, and Sammon’s report is the latest among those signals.

In addition to their aforementioned goal of securing pitching help, Sammon suggests that the club could look to add a regular outfielder to their lineup as well as a right-handed hitting third baseman to replace the injured Ronny Mauricio in the club’s third base mix alongside Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and Joey Wendle. Michael A. Taylor, Adam Duvall, Tommy Pham, and Joc Pederson are among the outfield options who may be available on short-term deals, while the likes of Gio Urshela and Justin Turner could help the club solidify its infield mix.

More from around MLB’s East divisions…

  • Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander spoke to reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) today in the wake of the trade that sent right-hander Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Manuel Margot to the Dodgers. While Neander acknowledged that the club loses some “certainty” in dealing way Glasnow and Margot, he also suggested that he sees both Pepiot and DeLuca as players who could impact the big league club in the near future Neander was particularly effusive in his praise of Pepiot, who he suggested has “a very good chance to be a good major-league starter” and could be “very close” to reaching that potential. Per Topkin, the deal will save the Rays $33MM in 2024 as Tampa Bay will pay the Dodgers just $2MM of the $4MM cash included in the trade this season, with the remaining $2MM to be paid out next offseason in the event that the Dodgers decline their $12MM option on Margot, which would cover the $2MM buyout on that option.
  • Orioles closer Felix Bautista spoke to reporters this evening, including MLB.com’s Jake Rill and AJ Cassavell, and provided an update on his health after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in October. Bautista told the pair that his recovery from the surgery is going well, and that he’s “doing everything he can” to get back onto the field. That return to the mound won’t occur in 2024, as Bautista is expected to miss the entire campaign while rehabbing. With the right-hander expected back in time for Spring Training 2025, Bautista and the Orioles got together on a two-year extension upon the announcement of his surgery back in September.

Dodgers, Tyler Glasnow Finalizing Extension

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The Dodgers’ acquisition of Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot from the Rays was contingent upon the former agreeing to a contract extension, and a new deal between Glasnow and L.A. is now nearly complete. The Wasserman client will reportedly earn an additional $110MM over four years on top of the $25MM he’d been slated to earn. Glasnow will earn $90MM from 2025-27, and the Dodgers hold a $30MM club option on the 2028 season. If they decline their end, Glasnow has a $20MM player option (thus accounting for the $110MM in guaranteed new money). There’s no deferred money on the contract, which will be considered a five-year, $135MM deal for luxury tax purposes (equating to a $27MM per year hit).

Glasnow, 30, stands as the first notable starting pitching upgrade the Dodgers have made this offseason. His acquisition gives them a top-of-the-rotation talent to bolster the roster — albeit one who’s spent more time on the injured list than the active roster in his career. Last season’s 21 starts and 120 innings were both career-high marks for the 6’8″ right-hander, who has missed time due to Tommy John surgery, a forearm strain, an elbow strain and a significant oblique strain that kept him out for two months to begin the 2023 season.

When he’s been healthy, however, Glasnow has been nothing short of excellent. Since being traded from the Pirates, his original organization, to the Rays in the 2018 Chris Archer heist, Glasnow has worked to a 3.20 earned run average, fanned an enormous 34.1% of his opponents and coupled that with a sharp 7.8% walk rate. He’s long had better-than-average grounder rates, but last year’s 52.1% mark was a career-best. He also notched a huge 16.5% swinging-strike rate that ranked second among all pitchers with at least 100 innings.

It’s a considerable bet to make on a pitcher who’s never topped 120 innings — easily the largest contract ever for anyone with such a limited track record of durability. There is, of course, a lot more nuance to Glasnow’s injury history than that 120 number, which MLBTR owner Tim Dierkes outlined in an article this afternoon for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers.  By the way, if you sign up for Front Office, we’ll be happy to send you any recent articles.

The four-year, $110MM in new money and effective five-year, $135MM term of Glasnow’s contract (for luxury tax purposes) roughly fall in line with previous extensions for high-end pitchers with injury concerns. Jacob deGrom inked a four-year, $120.5MM extension several years ago (prior to opting out and signing with the Rangers), and the contract also generally aligns with the five-year, $145MM term on Chris Sale’s Red Sox extensions. Certainly, the Dodgers will be hoping for better results from their own investment.

The rotation in Los Angeles is slated to consist of Glasnow, Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller, at present. Emmet Sheehan is likely in line for the fourth spot, while Gavin Stone, Michael Grove, Ryan Yarbrough and others battle it out for the fifth spot on the staff. Of course, L.A. is widely expected to continue adding to the starting five, with reported targets including free agents Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Lucas Giolito, in addition to trade target Dylan Cease. It stands to reason there are other pitchers in both markets currently being eyed by president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, GM Brandon Gomes and the Dodger front office.

From a payroll perspective, the Dodgers were already squarely into luxury-tax territory, sitting at a projected $251MM, per Roster Resource. Adding an additional $2MM to account for the new tax hit on Glasnow will push them up to about $253MM, which places them $4MM shy of the second tier of penalty.

The Dodgers’ bottom-line payroll is another story entirely, thanks not only the $680MM in deferred money on Shohei Ohtani’s contract but also the $115MM in deferred money on Mookie Betts’ 12-year deal and the $57MM in deferrals on Freddie Freeman’s six-year contract. They still owe well south of $200MM in terms of actual player salary for the upcoming season, even when factoring in projected arbitration salaries. As such, there’s ample room to continue adding significant pieces to the roster, so long as the Dodgers don’t mind being taxed at increasingly steep rates. They’re a third-time luxury payor, so they’ll be taxed at 62% for any dollars spent from $257MM to $277MM, at 95% from $277MM to $297MM, and a hefty 110% for any dollars spent thereafter.

Beyond landing the biggest fish in the history of free agency and acquiring Glasnow and Margot, the Dodgers have also re-signed Jason Heyward and Joe Kelly, brought Daniel Hudson back on a minor league contract and traded lefty Victor Gonzalez to the Yankees in what’s been an active offseason so far. With clear needs in the rotation and perhaps on the bench and in the bullpen, it’s highly unlikely that Friedman, Gomes & co. will consider this their final significant deal of the winter.

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times first reported that the extension was all but finalized. ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the terms.

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