And so it begins.
Just when we thought this would be the year that the Tampa Bay Rays have the best starting rotation in the big leagues, Tyler Glasnow comes down with an oblique strain before he throws one pitch in a preseason game.
The official diagnosis is a type 2 oblique strain that will sideline Glasnow anywhere from six to eight weeks, causing him to miss the start of the regular season.
This is becoming a recurring theme with Glasnow, and he has pitched in just 50 games during his five years in Tampa.
When healthy, Glasnow is one of the top pitchers in the American League.
The move almost guarantees that Shane McClanahan will be the opening-day starter.
There is also the possibility that the Rays will not even need a fifth starter until later in the season, as many teams start the season with a four-man rotation due to days off early in the season and inclement spring weather.
Manager Kevin Cash talked about the Glasnow Injury with the Tampa Bay Times. “It’s not ideal, but knowing Glas and the work he puts in, he’ll be back as quick as anybody’ Cash Said. “Good thing for us is we have a lot of very good quality options to insert if Glasnow isn’t ready on time.”
Those options include Luis Patino, Josh Fleming, Yonny Chirinos, and rookie Taj Bradley.
The injury is unrelated to the Tommy John surgery that sidelined Glasnow for most of the 2022 season. Glasnow pitched just 6 2/3 innings in the regular season and five strong innings in the 2022 postseason.
Coming off the Tommy John surgery, it was more than likely that Glasnow would have been on a pitch count in the early part of the season anyways.
Shane McClanahan, Jeffrey Springs, Zach Eflin, and Drew Rasmussen are four of the five starters in the Rays rotation.
