The Tampa Bay Rays activated Tyler Glasnow off the injured list on Saturday, paving the way for his season debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Glasnow has been sidelined with a strained oblique since early spring. In a corresponding move, the Rays selected reliever Cooper Criswell to Triple-A.
Glasnow, 29, has been thrifty in recent years. His next start will be his 17th since the start of the 2021 season. In the meantime, he has dealt with both the oblique problem and the Tommy John surgery he underwent in August 2021. That operation wiped out most of his 2022 campaign, limiting him to just two appearances late in the year.
When Glasnow was healthy, he was one of the best pitchers in the majors. In those aforementioned 16 starts, he compiled a 2.57 ERA (157 ERA+) and a 4.59 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 94 innings. His contributions are worth an estimated 2.8 wins over replacement, according to Baseball Reference calculations.
The Rays, who started with the best record in Major League Baseball on Saturday, have been hit with a number of injuries in their rotation. Jeffrey Springs, an early frontrunner for the American League Cy Young Award, had to have his own Tommy John surgery in April, while Drew Rasmussen was recently down for at least two months due to a pulled flexor. That excludes young Shane Baz, who is unlikely to pitch this season after undergoing elbow surgery last September. So getting Glasnow back is welcomed in more ways than one.
The Rays will continue their series against the Dodgers on Saturday with an expected game between Glasnow and veteran lefty Clayton Kershaw. The Rays won the series opener on Friday night by a 9-3 final behind great performances from the likes of Yandy Díaz and Christian Bethancourt.