It's been a long wait in LA, but the Dodgers are getting their $136.5 million arm back at the perfect time. Tyler Glasnow is set to return to the mound Tuesday against Atlanta, ending a stint on the injured list that dates back to early May, when lower back spasms first knocked him out.
The timeline here is brutal when you actually add it up. Glasnow landed on the 60-day IL in June and has now missed over 3 months of the season entirely. Before the back gave out, he was arguably the best version of himself in a Dodgers uniform — a 2.72 ERA through 7 starts with strikeout numbers that had him whiffing more than a third of the batters he faced. That's ace-level stuff, and LA has had to go without it for basically an entire summer.
Injuries have always been the asterisk on Glasnow's talent. He's got the stuff to be a top-of-the-rotation guy every year, but his body has rarely let him prove it over a full season. Even in his first 2 years with the Dodgers he managed to stay mostly healthy, averaging around 20 starts a season — which made this back injury, and the length of it, all the more frustrating for a team that paid him $136.5 million over 5 years to be a difference-maker in October.
Practically, his return solves a real problem. Glasnow is stepping into the rotation spot vacated by Justin Wrobleski, who just hit the IL himself with left forearm inflammation. So this isn't just a bonus arm getting added to an already-strong group — it's a direct 1-for-1 fix for a rotation that needed depth right now, in the middle of a pennant race.
The Braves series is as good a spot as any for Glasnow to shake off the rust. There's no such thing as a real tune-up start in August with the standings this tight, but Los Angeles clearly feels good enough about where he's at physically to trust him in a live big-league game rather than another minor league rehab outing.
For a Dodgers team built to win now, getting a healthy, dominant Glasnow back down the stretch is as close to a trade-deadline addition as it gets — except this one's been on the roster the whole time.