Dodgers acquire top starter from Rays
The Los Angeles Dodgers, sick of their postseason struggles, are taking out their frustrations with a vengeance.
The Dodgers acquired Tampa Bay Rays starter Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Manuel Margot last week for pitcher Ryan Pepiot and outfielder Jonny Deluca. The deal was contingent upon Glasnow agreeing to a contract extension. The team gave him a fiveyear, $135 million contract that includes $110 million in new money.
The trade, its parameters agreed to on the same day the Dodgers introduced two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, is the latest blockbuster move for the Dodgers – and perhaps not their last.
After signing Ohtani to a historic 10year, $700 million contract, they also are hoping to sign 25-year-old Japanese pitching sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has won three consecutive Sawamura Awards (Japan’s version of the Cy Young).
Yamamoto, who visited with Dodger officials last week, is expected to command at least a $300 million contract, MLB executives say. The New York Yankees are the favorites to sign Yamamoto, but the Dodgers are one of the finalists, hoping to one day have Yamamoto and Ohtani lead their rotation once Ohtani recovers in 2025 from his elbow surgery.
The Dodgers, who have dominated the National League West, winning 10 division titles with 11 consecutive playoff berths, have won just one playoff game the past two postseasons, and their lone World Series title in that stretch was during the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
They went into the offseason searching for at least two front-line starters, and with the pending acquisition of Glasnow, they’ve got one of them. He will lead a rotation with Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan and perhaps Clayton Kershaw, who is a free agent. Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin had elbow surgeries last season and are not expected to return in 2024.
Glasnow, who is a free agent after the 2024 season, earns $25 million, while Margot will earn $10 million next year – with a $12 million club option or $2 million buyout for 2025. But Glasnow is eligible for free agency after the 2024 season, which is why the Dodgers are insisting the deal is contingent upon a contract extension.
While Glasnow, 30, is an elite pitcher, averaging 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings, he’s never pitched more than 120 innings or made more than 21 starts in a single season. He has been sidelined by Tommy John surgery, forearm strains and an oblique strain in recent years.
He went 10-7 with a 3.53 ERA, striking out 162 batters in 120 innings, last season after missing the first two months.
Margot, a defensive specialist, likely would be used as a fourth outfielder or could platoon in right field with Jason Heyward. He hit .264 with four homers, 38 RBI and a .686 OPS in 99 games last season.