Tyler Glasnow is the latest Dodgers starting pitcher to hit the injured list

Right-hander Tyler Glasnow has been placed on the 15-day injured list by the Los Angeles Dodgers with right shoulder inflammation in the latest setback for the defending World Series champions’ perpetually injury-plagued pitching staff.

Glasnow went on the IL one day after leaving his second straight start early due to shoulder discomfort Sunday. He allowed two homers in the first inning against Pittsburgh, but returned to warm up for the second inning before exiting.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Monday that Glasnow developed “overall body soreness” in addition to his shoulder woes.

“There’s the mechanics piece of it, there’s the uncomfortable, not feeling right,” Roberts said. “As Tyler said, very frustrating, and we’re all just trying to get to the bottom of it.”

For the second consecutive season, Glasnow has joined an alarmingly long list of Dodgers pitchers with significant injury problems.

Top-line starters Glasnow, Blake Snell (left shoulder inflammation) and Clayton Kershaw (recovery from toe and knee surgery) are on the injured list, along with Blake Treinen (right forearm tightness), Michael Kopech (right shoulder), Brusdar Graterol (right shoulder surgery) and several other relievers.

“Pitching is certainly volatile,” Roberts said. “We experienced it last year — I think every year. I think the thing that’s probably most disconcerting is leading Major League Baseball in bullpen innings. I think that that’s something the starters are built up to take those innings down, so that’s sort of where my head is at, to make sure we don’t red-line these guys.”

The 6-foot-8 Glasnow has a lengthy injury history, but the Dodgers still signed him to a five-year, $136.5 million contract after acquiring the LA-area native from Tampa Bay in December 2023. Glasnow was solid to begin his debut season with the Dodgers, going 9-6 with a 3.49 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP — but he didn’t pitch after Aug. 11, developing elbow tendinitis that kept him out of the postseason.

Glasnow altered his delivery and his between-starts routine in an attempt to stay healthier, but he only got through five starts and 18 innings this season before his latest injury woes, going 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA.

Snell, who got a $182 million free-agent deal from deep-pocketed Los Angeles last November, made only two starts for his new team before going on the shelf this month.

The Dodgers used 17 starting pitchers during the 2024 regular season while their rotation was altered almost weekly by major injuries. Los Angeles won the World Series while relying on an October starting rotation of late-season acquisition Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (who missed three months of the regular season) and Walker Buehler (who also missed three months) along with multiple bullpen games.

Flaherty and Buehler departed in free agency when the Dodgers declined to re-sign them. Gavin Stone, who led LA with 25 starts last season, is out for the entire 2025 season after right shoulder surgery.

The Dodgers’ high-priced starting rotation is thin yet again in 2025: LA will have to throw a bullpen game Tuesday against the Miami Marlins, while former All-Star right-hander Tony Gonsolin will return to the mound Wednesday to make his first start since August 2023 after recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Gonsolin’s return is part of the good news for the Dodgers’ staff.

Dustin May, Monday’s starter, is also back in the rotation after missing two years with injuries, while Yamamoto and newcomer Roki Sasaki have remained healthy this month.

And two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is expected to make his Dodgers debut on the mound in the first half of this season, although the team hasn’t set a timeline.

Roberts isn’t sure how he will fill out his rotation when the Dodgers begin a road trip with 10 games in 10 days on Friday in Atlanta. The Dodgers might stretch out reliever Ben Casparius, a longtime starting pitcher before he reached the majors.

The Dodgers recalled right-handed reliever Noah Davis to fill Glasnow’s roster spot.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB