Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery next week, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. However, there's still a small chance he could rehab his partially torn UCL.
If Glasnow has surgery, he could return during the 2022 season but could be sidelined until 2023, Passan adds.
The hope is that Glasnow can return sometime during the 2022 season, but he may not pitch again until 2023, his final season before he reaches free agency. Glasnow, 27, had been brilliant in his 14 starts this season before hurting his elbow, striking out 123 in 88 innings
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 31, 2021
Glasnow tore his UCL last month, shortly after Major League Baseball cracked down on pitchers using foreign substances to enhance their spin rate.
The 27-year-old said he felt something "pop" in his arm after he stopped using sunscreen, the only foreign substance he claims he has ever used, and began to feel sore because he had to adjust his grips.
Glasnow slammed MLB for its crackdown on foreign substances, blaming the league for his injury and saying it should've made the change during the offseason to allow pitchers to adjust better.
Tyler Glasnow sounds off on MLB's foreign substance crackdown and how it may have led to injury pic.twitter.com/47rcTnpk0l
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) June 15, 2021
Before suffering the injury, Glasnow was 5-2 this season with a 2.66 ERA, 0.932 WHIP and 123 strikeouts in 88 innings.
With Glasnow sidelined, the Rays are rotating Ryan Yarbrough, Shane McClanahan, Michael Wacha, Josh Fleming and Luis Patino. Tampa Bay is second in the American League East with a 62-42 record, a half-game behind the Boston Red Sox for the division lead.
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