LOS ANGELES — When the Dodgers placed Tyler Glasnow on the injured list with elbow tendinitis, they portrayed it as a cautious decision that would possibly cost him as little as two starts.
Glasnow himself said it was “nothing super concerning to me.”
A little over a week later, the tone of things has changed. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts described Glasnow’s progress in the past week as “slow moving” and “not surprising for me that it’s taken longer than we initially thought.”
Glasnow is now expected to miss more than the original 15 days required by the IL, pushing his return into mid-September.
“Not getting better,” Roberts said when asked what prompted the change in prognosis. “He’s just still not throwing free and easy. And when you’re not, then you’ve got to kind of make some concessions and slow down the process. So that’s kind of what it is.”
Glasnow has been limited to playing catch so far. He will have to build back up and go on a minor-league injury rehabilitation assignment before he rejoins the Dodgers’ starting rotation, Roberts said.
If Glasnow doesn’t return soon, there will be little time left in the regular season for him to get multiple starts in preparation for the postseason. But Roberts wouldn’t make any declarations about how much time Glasnow would need.
“I think the coming days will be telling,” Roberts said. “I don’t think anyone can sit here today and say that.”
FREEMAN OFF
Any time Freddie Freeman is not in the Dodgers’ starting lineup it is a surprise. He was not in the lineup Tuesday.
Roberts said he thought it would be a good idea to give the eight-time All-Star first baseman the day off (coupled with the team off day Monday) to allow the hairline fracture in the middle finger of Freeman’s right hand time to heal.
“Just kind of thinking through it, potentially giving it a chance to calm down,” Roberts said. “I think each day can only help, not having to prepare each day to hit. … I just don’t want this thing to linger. So if we can get it to calm down, we’ll be in a better spot.”
Freeman suffered the injury on a bad-hop ground ball Aug. 17 in St. Louis. He missed one game before returning to the lineup, but he has gone 3 for 23 (.130) in six games while playing through the injury.
“I think it’s part of it,” Roberts said of the slump. “For me, it just doesn’t look the same. But hitting is hard. That could be a separate point. And it could not be because of the finger. Freddie could argue that, which is completely fine. But I still believe that giving it time to calm down and not be playing, there’s only benefit.”
Roberts said the fracture will take four to six weeks to fully heal – the usual timeline for a fractured bone – but moving Freeman to the IL is not under consideration.
“No, I don’t think so,” Roberts said. “I think that, obviously, he could have played today. He wanted to play. I just don’t think the IL right now makes a whole lot of sense. It’s something where, even in 10 days, the fracture is not gonna heal in 10 days.”
By sitting Freeman on Tuesday, Roberts also allowed himself a chance to add another right-handed bat against Orioles starter Cole Irvin. The left-handed Irvin, a former Servite High standout, has very dramatic splits – right-handed hitters have batted .316 with a .916 OPS against Irvin while lefties have hit just .204 with a .496 OPS.
Roberts said “there’s a chance” he gives Freeman more than one day out of the lineup.
“Everybody knows what he means to the ball club,” Roberts said. “Being able to post, being in the lineup, all that stuff matters. But also, it still matters that you feel good, that your swing feels good, and I just don’t think that taking a couple days off – whatever days it ends up being – is going to be too costly.”
MOVING ON
Veteran outfielder Jason Heyward was officially released by the Dodgers and signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros. The Dodgers will be responsible for the remainder of Heyward’s $9 million salary this season, minus the pro-rated portion of the minimum the Astros will pay him.
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ALSO
Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto is scheduled to make a rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday. It will be Yamamoto’s first game action since he left his June 15 start with a strained rotator cuff. Yamamoto is expected to pitch two innings. …
Catcher Austin Barnes took live batting practice on Tuesday afternoon. He is on the IL with a fractured toe, but Roberts said he expects Barnes to be activated on Thursday.
UP NEXT
Orioles (RHP Corbin Burnes, 12-6, 3.28 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Walker Buehler, 1-4, 6.09 ERA), Wednesday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, MLB Network, 570 AM
