Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow will rejoin the club early next week for a series against the Braves, manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Glasnow has missed more than three months with a back injury. He’s been on the 60-day IL since June. The Dodgers currently have an opening on the 40-man roster, so no additional move will be needed as things currently stand.
Glasnow got up to 77 pitches in his final rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City. He allowed one earned run on one hit with nine strikeouts across 5 1/3 innings. Glasnow piled up 19 strikeouts over 11 2/3 frames with the Comets.
Lower back spasms derailed a strong start to the year for Glasnow. He posted a 2.72 ERA through seven outings to open the season. Glasnow struck out more than a third of the hitters he faced across 39 2/3 innings. He was removed from a start against the Astros in early May with the back issue.
Glasnow has dealt with injuries for the majority of his career, but had avoided a major absence in his first two seasons with L.A. The righty averaged 20 starts over the past two years. Despite missing time with back and elbow issues, Glasnow threw a career-high 134 innings in 2024 (though he missed the playoffs that year). He tossed 120 frames between the regular season and the postseason in 2025.
Glasnow is expected to take the rotation spot of Justin Wrobleski, who hit the IL with left forearm inflammation on Sunday. The lefty threw a bullpen on Saturday. Roberts said Wrobleski will return as a multi-inning reliever (h/t Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register).
After earning his first career All-Star selection, Wrobleski had struggled mightily in the second half. He was tagged for 19 earned runs over his final four starts before heading to the injured list. Wrobleski allowed a whopping 11 home runs in that stretch.
Shohei Ohtani was also on the mound today. He tossed 30 pitches as part of a live batting practice session. Ohtani faced off against battery mate Will Smith, who is working his way back from a neck injury. The live BP appearance is one of the final steps for Ohtani as he eyes a return to pitching.
“If it were up to Shohei, he’d be in a game in a few days,” Roberts said (h/t Katie Woo of The Athletic). “I would assume (there’s) another live BP, but we’re going to make sure we talk to him and get with the training staff as well.”
Ohtani last pitched on July 3 against the Padres. He was putting together a Cy Young-caliber campaign before a knee injury forced a break from pitching. Ohtani has remained in the hitting lineup as the everyday DH while ramping up as a pitcher.
Continuing the theme, closer Edwin Diaz tossed a bullpen session today. Like Wrobleski, he’s also headed for a new role. Roberts said Diaz will not be the closer when he returns. Instead, he’ll work in lower-leverage spots. Diaz was placed on the IL earlier this week with neck inflammation. He blew three saves in five tries after returning from elbow surgery.
“I think it’s more of getting him back healthy and then putting him in some softer-landing situations to get the confidence, to get the feel and the trust of executing pitches, getting major-league hitters out and then at that point in time we’ll go from there,” Roberts said, per Plunkett.
Reliever Will Klein has not been ruled out for the season. The righty started a throwing program as he deals with bone chips in his elbow. Klein has missed all of August with the injury, which may eventually require surgery.
“At some point, you’d like to get them out,” Klein said, relayed by Plunkett. “But obviously if you get surgery now, the season’s over. I was just sitting there thinking I didn’t want that to be how this ends. So if I can deal with how it feels – a little bit of pain is fine. So if we can get it to a manageable point, clear it up and try to get through the rest of the year. I’d rather do that than call it now.”
Photo courtesy of Jon Endow, Imagn Images
