It seemed inevitable when he was sidelined in June, but Rays ace Tyler Glasnow is indeed now slated to have Tommy John surgery.
Tampa Bay Rays ace Tyler Glasnow has not pitched since June 14, when he left his start against the Chicago White Sox due to elbow discomfort. He was diagnosed with a partially torn UCL and flexor tendon.
Now, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Glasnow is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery next week. Passan added there’s a small chance of a rehab path for his partial UCL tear, with some hope he’ll be able to pitch next season after what seems like inevitable surgery. The season after that, 2023, will be his final year of team control before hitting free agency.
Glasnow was having a stellar season at the time of his injury, with a 2.66 ERA, an 0.93 WHIP, 123 strikeouts and 27 walks over 88 innings-14 starts. The Rays have stayed afloat fine without him, sitting a 0.5-game back of the first place Boston Red Sox in the AL East entering Saturday.
Did the “sticky stuff” crackdown cause Tyler Glasnow’s injury?
MLB notably started their midseason crackdown on the use of illegal foreign substances around the time Glasnow was injured. He was open in blaming that for his elbow issue after that outing against the White Sox.
“I just threw 80 something innings & you just told me I can’t use anything. I have to change everything. I truly believe 100% that’s why I got hurt. I’m frustrated MLB doesn’t understand. You can’t just tell us to use nothing. It’s crazy.”
Glasnow reached a bit to say he couldn’t “use anything” to get a better grip on the ball–only what’s deemed to break the rules. But baseball’s decision to crack down on the use of “sticky stuff” in the middle of the season, and the way they’re trying to enforce the policy by practically forcing pitchers to disrobe in plain view, deserves some criticism.
After the outing he was injured in, Glasnow also said he had to alter his pitch grips to adjust to not having whatever he had used to help him maintain grip on the ball. The likelihood of altered mechanics could have caused his elbow trouble. That’s not to suggest he was doing anything he shouldn’t have been beforehand. In any case, now the Rays know they’ll have to do without their best pitcher for the rest of the season.