The primary logic for moving Glasnow is not that he’s a bad player, but that the Dodgers are in a unique position to capitalize on his value before it inevitably drops.
1. The Overwhelming Pitching Depth
The Dodgers have an embarrassment of riches in their starting rotation, making Glasnow a high-priced luxury rather than a necessity. The team is already planning for a six-man rotation, and they still have more arms than spots.
- Established Aces: Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki are already penciled in for three spots.
- Shohei Ohtani: Will take turns in the rotation and needs the workload managed.
- Next Tier: Emmet Sheehan has proven he deserves a regular spot, and young, high-upside arms like River Ryan, Gavin Stone, Justin Wrobleski, and Landon Knack are pushing for the final spots.
Trading Glasnow clears a crucial spot in the rotation, alleviates the pressure on their top prospects, and still leaves the Dodgers with one of the deepest rotations in baseball.
2. Mitigating Injury Risk and High Salary
Glasnow has been exceptional when on the mound, but durability has always been his biggest question mark.
- Innings Limit: He has never thrown more than 134 innings in a single season (a mark he reached in 2024), and he has only crossed the 100-inning threshold three times in his 10-year career.
- Salary Commitment: He is owed $32.5 million in each of the next two seasons. The Dodgers are staring at a high financial commitment to a pitcher who is nearly certain to spend some time on the Injured List.
- High Value Moment: Glasnow is coming off a dominant postseason (1.69 ERA), meaning his value is at a career-high peak. Trading him now capitalizes on that value, allowing the Dodgers to avoid the next inevitable injury that would cause his trade value to plummet.
3. Filling Immediate Roster Holes
While the Dodgers’ pitching is stacked, they still have notable holes that a trade could instantly solve. Trading Glasnow for a big-leaguer (or for prospects that can be immediately flipped) is the easiest way to address these needs without touching the already depleted core farm system.
- Outfield/Left Field: The team still needs an established, everyday presence in the outfield. Trading Glasnow could be the centerpiece of a deal to acquire a star outfielder.
- Relief Pitching: While they signed Edwin Díaz, a high-impact reliever or two-way player in a big-league-for-big-league swap could provide the final piece to solidify the bullpen depth.
The Bottom Line
A trade is not about the Dodgers giving up a bad player; it’s about converting a high-risk, high-value asset in an area of strength (starting pitching) into an established, reliable asset in an area of need (the lineup or bullpen). It’s the ultimate Andrew Friedman move: using leverage to secure the team’s long-term dominance.
