Dodgers manager's noncommittal answer casts doubt on ace pitcher's 2024 return

The Los Angeles Dodgers were, and still are, among the heavy favorites to win a World Series in 2024.

When you have Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman on your team, it's hard not to feel confident. The Dodgers spent over $1 billion in free-agent contracts this winter, and have led their division pole-to-pole despite recent challenges from two upstart Wild Card teams.

However, if anything is worrying Dodgers fans, it's the uncertain status of the starting rotation. Nine starting pitchers have spent time on the injured list for the Dodgers this season, with only rookie Gavin Stone managing to remain healthy from day one until now.

Despite all the injuries, the Dodgers managed to become the first team in Major League Baseball to reach 80 wins on Thursday night. They'll once again be among the favorites to take home the World Series. But they'd feel a lot better if they had their ace ready for October.

Unfortunately, 2024 All-Star Tyler Glasnow has been missing in action since Aug. 11, dealing with reported elbow tendinitis.

Manager Dave Roberts was asked for the latest update on Glasnow's status, and his noncommittal response was far from reassuring that Glasnow would be ready for the postseason.

"We're hopeful," Roberts said Thursday, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. “I think that there’s still a lot of variables, to be certain. But I think everyone in the organization is hopeful.”

The concern level around Glasnow's injury has slowly ramped up, from the righty initially saying there was "nothing super concerning," to Roberts saying last weekend the rest of the regular season wasn't in jeopardy, to this latest, murkiest response yet.

Glasnow, 31, has had a career marked by two things: dominance and injuries. With 134 innings pitched this season, Glasnow had already set a career-high. His 22 starts this season, roughly two-thirds of a healthy starting pitcher's workload, were also a new personal best.

Glasnow still leads all National League pitchers with a 0.95 WHIP, with a 3.49 ERA and 168 strikeouts. He likely would have been the Game 1 starter in the Dodgers' first postseason series if he remained healthy throughout the second half.

Now, the Dodgers have to hope things work themselves out by the time their postseason gets underway. Securing the NL West title, and the first-round bye that comes with it, would be a huge boost to their chances of getting Glasnow geared up for a playoff run.

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