The supremely talented Los Angeles Dodgers boast the second-best record in baseball at 28-15 entering play on Thursday. And LA holds a half-game division lead over the second-place San Diego Padres in the NL West. However, injuries have plagued Los Angeles early on in 2025 as numerous Dodgers starting pitchers have been sidelined by ailments. Rookie phenom Roki Sasaki is the latest member of the rotation to land on the IL with a shoulder injury.

Veteran starter Tyler Glasnow was forced to exit early in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in late April. The following day the Dodgers announced that Glasnow had been placed on the injured list with shoulder inflammation. He joined Blake Snell on the IL as the two-time Cy Young winner is also dealing with shoulder discomfort that’s limited him to nine innings over two starts this season.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who’s primary responsibility for the club these days seems to be breaking bad news about the rotation to reporters, broke with that tradition and actually provided a positive update on Glasnow Thursday. Although, naturally, the announcement came with a catch.

The Dodgers can’t afford to lose any more pitchers to injury

Mar 31, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow (31) delivers to the plate in the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium.
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Roberts told reporters that Glasnow was able to play catch on Thursday, according to Matthew Moreno on X. “From what I hear, the catch play, the flat-ground stuff has been good. I’m not sure when he’s going to get on the mound, though,” Roberts added to his Glasnow update.

As it turns out, being able to throw from the mound is an important aspect of being a Major League pitcher. And, based on Roberts update, there doesn’t seem to be a timeline in place for Glasnow to advance beyond flat-ground throwing at the moment.

Glasnow was actually cleared to play catch by the team last week. So it can be viewed as a positive that he hasn’t suffered a setback since advancing in his rehab.

Glasnow has been limited to just 28 innings so far this year as he recovers from his latest injury. The Dodgers’ offense has been able to overcome the near-catastrophic loss of pitching talent suffered by the team in the early part of the campaign. But if LA is going to have a legitimate shot at repeating as champions, they’re going to need their pitching staff to get healthy and take some pressure off Dodgers’ bats.