Tampa Bay Rays fans were devastated by reports that Tyler Glasnow suffered an oblique injury during live batting practice and will miss time. Glasnow is a terrific pitcher while healthy, which is unfortunately becoming less and less common. He barely played in 2022, which means that spring training is crucial to getting him ready for this season.
In 2021, Glasnow pitched 88 innings for a brilliant ERA of 2.66. If he could keep that up over the course of an entire season, he would be a perennial Cy Young award candidate. He just seems unable to escape the injury bug. An oblique injury could be especially tough to come back from, since it is imperative to make sure it fully heals.
Talkin' Baseball shared the report of the injury from veteran Rays beat writer Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times on Twitter.
This has become all too common of a story in the career of Tyler Glasnow. The Tampa Bay Rays pitcher has never started more than 14 games in a single season, when many top pitchers are able to do double that. If it were not for injuries, he would be an elite MLB pitcher.
If this missed time extends into the regular season, it will significantly hurt the Tampa Bay Rays' playoff chances. They have to compete in the tough American League East against the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. They may have the talent needed to overcome this injury, but that is far from a guarantee.
Tyler Glasnow may go down as one of the biggest what-ifs in recent baseball history. The Tampa Bay Rays would have benefited many times over from having a pitcher of his caliber fully healthy. He is dominant every time he steps on the mound; he just isn't able to do it often enough.
The Rays need to find a suitable replacement for Glasnow, just as they have done so many times in the past few years.
The Rays have made a habit out of doing more with less, finding ways to succeed on a smaller budget. They appear poised to do so once again in 2023, and at the very least battle for a playoff spot.
The loss of Tyler Glasnow weakens their starting pitcher rotation, but they have always had a knack for finding fresh talent. Based on the last few seasons, it is difficult to bet against the Rays.
