Cody Snavely
LOS ANGELES— Lost but not forgotten during the Los Angeles Dodgers 2024 postseason run last October, which ended with the Dodgers winning the World Series in five games over the New York Yankees, was right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow, who missed the dance after having a season-ending elbow injury.
During an offseason in which the Dodgers spent over one billion dollars revamping the team after back-to-back first-round exits in the National League Division Series, Glasnow was also acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in a blockbuster trade.
The Dodgers took a risk in acquiring Glasnow, who had a hefty injury history but needed the added rotation depth and believing that his best days were ahead of him.
Glasnow rewarded the Dodgers during his first season in blue, setting a career-high in games started and innings pitched, but the point was mute because, by season’s end, Glasnow would be shut down due to right elbow tendonitis.
Missing the fun and atmosphere of October baseball, the thing that the Dodgers traded specifically Glasnow for, was hard on the righty, changing how he went into this offseason.
“The No. 1 goal this year is just to stay healthy,” Glasnow said at the team’s DodgerFest fan event in February. “That’s by far the No. 1 goal.”
After eleven spring training innings, Glasnow, 31, was set to make his first regular-season start since August 11th of last season, hoping to set the stage for a healthy 2025 campaign.
Overall, Glasnow looked sharp in his 2025 Major League regular season by tossing five strong shutout innings, allowing two hits, three walks, and punching out eight Atlanta Braves.
However, the start is a culmination of tweaks that Glasnow changed this winter in conversations with Dodgers pitching coaches Mark Prior and Connor McGuiness.
The first step was the elimination of using weighted and plyometric balls in his pregame warm-up routine, stating that they were potentially the cause of the strain on his right elbow.
Instead, the righty would opt for a more traditional long toss program approach, focusing on gradually working the arm and length of the toss rather than going “all out” at 120 feet.
In essence, it is an overall trend that fellow injured right-handed Dustin may have incorporated, which is less effort and reliance on the pitches to do their work.
“It just seems like I can use a lot less effort and get the same stuff,” Glasnow said. “I think it’s the least I’ve thought mechanically in a long time,” continued Glasnow. “I feel athletic and free and good.”
Overall, the results were relatively similar to last season for Glasnow, who touched 98mph on his fastball while generating the typical whiffs on his breaking balls.
The next step for Glasnow is the same as last year: to stay healthy and contribute to the Dodgers in their quest for back-to-back championships.
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