It’s no secret that the Los Angeles Dodgers have had an awful year in terms of pitching injuries.
Two staples in the starting rotation, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell, have combined for just seven starts this season as they both currently find themselves on the 60-day injured list.
Luckily, manager Dave Roberts had promising updates for the pair of All-Stars as they progress back to the mound.
“Tyler threw today,” Roberts said Tuesday. “Really encouraged with his bullpen in Los Angeles. Blake threw today here. Really encouraging. So, yeah, you can start to see us get to the other side. It’s stuff to look forward to.”
Both All-Stars are shelved due to shoulder inflammation. Snell could only muster two starts in a Dodgers uniform as Glasnow went five before their injuries kept them off the mound.
Pitching coach Mark Prior also spoke on the updates and what he has seen from his injured pitchers.
“Seeing Blake today live in front of us was great. His arm looks, for the first time probably all year, free and easy,” Prior said Tuesday. “(Glasnow) really has been feeling good and the ball has been coming out really good.
“Snell’s going to throw another bullpen for sure and we’re going to kind of wrap our head around on Glas and try to figure out maybe what the next seven to 10 days look like for him, too and try to see what that progression looks like.”
Long-term pitching health is still at the forefront of the coaching staff’s minds as they work with their rotational arms. The two pitchers will be welcomed back whenever they are available, but instead of risking a few regular season starts, the team is slow playing them to ensure they’re healthy in October.
Glasnow tossed 134 innings last season before elbow tendinitis shut him down in August. Snell — a two-time Cy Young award winner — is notoriously a much better pitcher during the second half of the year.
If these two can play their best baseball of the year when the stakes are highest, the missed starts that are steadily adding up in the regular season will quickly be forgotten.
