Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow is one of the better pitchers the sport of baseball has, when he's healthy at least. In 2021, Glasnow really burst onto the scene as one of the best pitchers in the majors by posting a 2.66 ERA, a 0.932 WHIP, a 12.6 strikeout per nine innings rate, and a solid 4.5 strikeout per walk ratio. Injuries essentially totally derailed his 2022 season, where he was limited to only two starts. Glasnow returned in 2023, but his numbers weren't as eye-popping as his 2021 numbers were. His 3.53 ERA and 1.083 WHIP were still very much solid, but they were still a stepback from 2021.

With that being said, Glasnow is still a pitcher any team would like to have. Any team except for the Rays, apparently. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com has reported that multiple executives across the MLB have told him the Rays will ‘definitely‘ trade Glasnow in the offseason. On one hand, that report makes sense; the Rays are one of the most frugal teams in baseball. They ranked 27th in payroll last season and Glasnow is set to make roughly $25 million this season. Tampa is also notorious for developing young players in their farm system so recouping plenty of exciting prospects who are making far less money than Glasnow probably entices the Rays' front office tremendously.

Then again, pitchers like Glasnow don't grow on trees, and it isn't anything close to a lock that anybody prospect the Rays get in return for Glasnow amounts to anywhere close to the caliber of player Glasnow is. But the Rays have earned the benefit of the doubt. If they're dead set on trading Tyler Glasnow, the only question then becomes: where do they trade him to?

New York Yankees

The odds of the Rays trading one of their best pitchers to a divisional rival seem overwhelmingly low, but there may not be a team in the majors that needs a starting pitcher of Tyler Glasnow's quality more than the New York Yankees. The Yankees got a lot out of a stellar bullpen, but it's hard for bullpens to hold leads when the team doesn't have leads. The team didn't have leads because they got almost nothing from any of their starting pitchers not named Gerrit Cole, who put together an outstanding 2023 season that culminated with him winning the AL Cy Young award.

Outside of Cole, however, the Yankees' starting pitching was dreadful. Among the pitchers on the Yankees' roster who pitched at least 40 innings and started at least ten games, Cole was the only pitcher with an ERA below 4.5. His ERA was 2.63. Domingo German was the only other pitcher who had a WHIP below 1.1, but the Yankees recently waived him.

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To put the Yankees' abysmal pitching another way: they were tied for 22nd in quality starts last season. No, quality starts aren't exactly the most scientific stats out there, but it at least serves as some kind of baseline as to what a pitcher should strive for when they start a game. The Yankees had 48 such starts. 24 of them came from Gerrit Cole. Cole was responsible for half of the Yankees' quality starts. They badly need to get Cole a running mate. Glasnow would be that guy.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are another team that could use some reinforcements in the starting pitching department. Much like with Cole and the Yankees, Clayton Kershaw did not get much help from his fellow starting pitchers last season. Granted, there are some excuses for the Dodgers. Walker Buehler did not pitch at all last season, and Dustin May was limited to only nine starts and 48 innings pitched. But following the same guidelines as the Yankees, among pitchers with at least ten starts and 40 innings pitched last season, Bobby Miller was the only pitcher not named Clayton Kershaw to post an ERA below four and have a WHIP below 1.15. That's not good.

What also isn't good is that Kershaw is slated to be a free agent. He seems likely to re-sign, but he is continuing to get up there in age; by the time next season starts, Kershaw will be 36 years old. Julio Urias is also slated to be a free agent, but he did not pitch again for the Dodgers after a second accusation of domestic violence was levied against him last season.

The good news for the Dodgers is that Walker Buehler will pitch in 2024. They also have plenty of young pitchers in the pipeline ready to go. But it would be nice to get another robust, proven veteran starter to put in the rotation. Tyler Glasnow would be that guy. The Dodgers haven't been afraid to make big trades in the past. Perhaps another one is in order.