The Rays expect to activate righty Tyler Glasnow from the injured list on Wednesday to start against the Guardians, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Glasnow will be limited to around 45 pitches.
This is a huge development for the Rays, who have been without Glasnow since he underwent Tommy John surgery in August of last year. Glasnow has been a tantalizing, if frustrating, talent ever since he broke out during the 2019 season. Between 2019 and 2021, Glasnow posted an ERA of 2.80 with a 2.87 FIP to match, with a WHIP of 0.976. These fantastic results have been belied by injury woes, however, as Glasnow only managed 206 innings across 37 starts in that timeframe.
Clearly, the Rays are betting on improved health going forward from their exciting right-hander, as they recently signed him to a 2-year contract extension worth over $30 million. This development seems to be a good sign in that regard. With the Rays half a game ahead of the Mariners for the second of the three Wild Card spots, if Glasnow’s return goes well it seems likely that he will pair with the likes of Corey Kluber, Drew Rasmussenand Jeffrey Springs as potential playoff starters behind ace Shane McClanahan.
Glasnow has been brought along slowly in 4 rehab appearances for AAA Durham this September. In his most recent rehab start, Glasnow topped out at 46 pitches, allowing no runs and striking out six while walking one. With Glasnow expected to be limited to around the same amount of pitches on Wednesday, it’s possible that the Rays are looking at him less as a traditional starter for the playoffs and more as a dominant pitcher who can be used in shorter bursts. Such an approach would be far from unusual for the Rays, who in recent years have used pitchers such as Rasmussen and Ryan Yarbrough in a similar manner during the postseason.
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