Tyler Glasnow injury is harsh reminder that the Dodgers are their own greatest threat

It's easy to look at the critical mass of talent the Los Angeles Dodgers have assembled over the last couple of years, the billions of dollars spent in free agency, and wonder how they'll ever lose again. But every Death Star has its exhaust port, even the Dodgers — and in case we needed a reminder, the baseball gods offered one on Wednesday when L.A. watched Tyler Glasnow leave his start against the Houston Astros early due to injury.

After throwing a warm-up pitch ahead of the bottom of the second, Glasnow pulled up short and then shouted in frustration. He spoke with manager Dave Roberts and the team's training staff, eventually leaving the game with what the Dodgers are calling low back pain.

We don't yet know what the diagnosis is, or just how serious of an issue it might be moving forward. Heck, we don't even know whether Glasnow will wind up missing his next start. But whether this results in an extended absence or not, it serves as a sobering reminder of just how quickly your fortunes can change in baseball — especially given the injury risk that continues to loom over this Dodgers dynasty.

Injuries remain the biggest threat to a Dodgers threepeat bid

The Dodgers have stars everywhere you look, but it's also hard to ignore that a lot of those stars come with checkered injury histories. Glasnow has only thrown more than 120 innings once in 11 years in the Majors. Shohei Ohtani is just now back as a full-time starter after undergoing a second serious elbow operation in 2023. Blake Snell is no stranger to missing time during his career, and he's yet to make his debut this season after suffering from shoulder fatigue during the spring. Edwin Diaz is one of several relievers on the IL at the moment. Guys like Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman aren't getting any younger.

You can shrug all that history off if you'd like, and sure, one of the benefits of amassing so much talent is that you're better equipped to withstand injuries. But while the Dodgers are the reigning two-time champs, it's also worth remembering how close both of those title runs were to getting derailed: L.A. got pushed to five games by the Padres in the 2024 NLDS and was literally two outs away from losing Game 7 of last year's World Series. And in both instances, injuries played a significant role, from a bullpen game in Game 4 of the NLDS against San Diego to Roki Sasaki serving as emergency closer last October.

The Dodgers know the high-wire act they're navigating here; why do you think they never stop adding, even to areas that already seem like strengths? They know how fragile this can be; one bad break involving someone like Glasnow or Snell or Ohtani, and suddenly things get awfully precarious come postseason time. That's true of every team in the league, to be sure, but it's particularly true of one that's overindexed on injury risks. Regardless of whether they dodged a bullet with Glasnow on Wednesday, that reality is going to guide how the team approaches the upcoming trade deadline.

How Tyler Glasnow injury could drastically change the Dodgers' trade deadline

On the surface, starting pitching might not seem like much of a need for the Dodgers. Heck, if anything they've got too many starters, with Snell's impending return likely to bump someone like Sasaki out of the rotation — and more young arms, like top prospect River Ryan, waiting in the wings.

Then again, how many of those pitchers would you actually trust to take the ball in a playoff game? Yamamoto, Ohtani, Glasnow and Snell is probably the full list, and while that's among the best top fours in baseball, three of those four come with serious health concerns. L.A. can't afford to ignore starting pitching at the deadline, even if this Glasnow injury scare doesn't wind up being significant.

The problem is that so much of this summer's rotation market is up in the air right now. Tarik Skubal just underwent an elbow procedure that will sideline him for at least two months. Joe Ryan left his most recent start with elbow discomfort, although an MRI came back negative. Maybe Toronto offers up Kevin Gausman if they're out of it by July, but that's a big if, and what else is out there? Clay Holmes from the Mets? Michael Wacha from the Royals?

Those are all more regular season solutions than postseason solutions, and that's a problem for a Dodgers team squarely focused on October. Maybe this feels like an overreaction now — especially if Glasnow doesn't require so much as an IL stint — but L.A.'s last two playoff runs are a reminder of how dire things can get for even the richest of the rich.

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