LOS ANGELES – Less than two weeks until the most important trade deadline in franchise history, and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ heads are spinning. Where do they look? How close do they look? What is real? What is real dumb? Things are getting crazy at Chavez Ravine, as evidenced by the rapt attention paid to three pitchers Friday during the team’s return from the All-Star break. Only one of whom actually pitched in an official Dodgers game. First up was Tyler Glasnow, four hours before the Dodgers played the Boston Red Sox, captivating club officials standing in sweltering heat with a 57-pitch simulated game.
Glasnow is their ace, but he’s fragile, and he’s nearly reached his career-high innings count, and the Dodgers sidelined him before the All-Star game with a weird back injury. Weird, because he probably wasn’t really hurt, but just needed the time off, which is honestly scarier than any injury. “I feel good, the time off was good,” he said. “Went out there today and everything felt sharp.”
So he’s fine. For now. Do you trust him? Are you sure? Next up, 1,381 miles to the southeast, there was Clayton Kershaw in Round Rock, Texas, making a rehabilitation start for triple-A Oklahoma City. As Dodgers officials followed closely on their laptops, Kershaw allowed three runs in four innings with a fastball velocity that dipped to a dangerous 87 mph in the fourth inning.
Would you now slide him back in the rotation, ignoring that he’s still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and he’s 36? “I mean, ultimately, it’s just where the team is at,” Kershaw said afterward. “So would love to come back whenever they need me, obviously. But don’t want to put the team in a bad spot.” Too late. They’re already in a bad spot. Here’s guessing the Dodgers are going to get him back on a big-league mound as soon as possible.
