The Dodgers are trying to follow up their Shohei Ohtani deal with a trade for one of the top pitchers available.
The Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays are in agreement on a trade that would send starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow to the Dodgers, ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported on Thursday evening. The deal is contingent on Glasnow signing a contract extension with the Dodgers, though that is expected to happen by Friday, according to multiple reports.
The window for the extension opened Thursday morning and if the deal is finalized, the Dodgers would acquire Glasnow, outfielder Manuel Margot and $4 million in cash considerations and send right-handed starter Ryan Pepiot and outfield prospect Jonny Deluca to Tampa Bay. The teams have until Sunday at 8 a.m. PT to complete the trade, a window granted by the commissioner’s office.
“There is nothing done yet,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said on MLB Network at the news conference to discuss Shohei Ohtani’s record $700 million, 10-year contract.
Starting pitching is considered a major need for the Dodgers this winter. Ohtani will not pitch until 2025 after undergoing UCL surgery at the end of last season, meaning the 2024 rotation candidates are either young pitchers (Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan, Michael Grove, Gavin Stone and Pepiot) or established pitchers recovering from Tommy John surgery (Walker Buehler and Dustin May), with Tony Gonsolin unlikely to pitch again until 2025).
The Dodgers also don’t know whether three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, rehabbing from shoulder surgery and likely not ready until next summer, will re-sign or choose to play elsewhere. Kershaw, 35, is a free agent.
Even if the Glasnow trade goes through, the Dodgers will likely look to add another starting pitcher via free agency or trade.
One of the most high-profile starting pitchers on the trade market, Glasnow is among MLB’s most dominant pitchers, though injuries have often hindered his career. In a career-high 120 innings last season, the hard-throwing right-hander went 10-7 with a 3.53 ERA and 162 strikeouts with just 37 walks. The trade, if it goes through, would bring the Dodgers a top-of-the-rotation arm just days after signing Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract, with the vast majority of the money deferred.
Some of their new salary flexibility could be directed to Glasnow, a 30-year-old former Santa Clarita Hart High standout who is set to make $25 million this season. He can become a free agent after the World Series and would receive a $1 million assignment bonus if traded, so an extension would presumably exceed $100 million. Ohtani and fellow stars Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman are the only Dodgers currently signed beyond 2025.
Pepiot, 26, has thrived in parts of two seasons with the Dodgers, posting a 2.76 ERA shuttling between the rotation and the bullpen. He was 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 42 innings last season, striking out 38 and walking five, though he did allow seven home runs.
Pepiot earned a rotation spot during spring training, then strained his left oblique in his final spring start on March 28 and began the season on the injured list. Pepiot said the injury also impacted his intercostal muscles, and he didn’t make his first big league appearance until Aug. 19. He has just one year of major league service time, giving the Rays five years of control before he reaches free agency.
Deluca, 25, made his major league debut on June 7 and hit .262 with two homers and six RBIs in 24 games. He batted .306 with seven homers and 35 RBIs at Oklahoma City and .279 with 10 homers and 18 RBIs at Double-A Tulsa. The Dodgers drafted the Agoura High product in the 25th round in 2017 out of Oregon. Deluca, who can play all three outfield positions, slashed .271/.357/.526 in the minor leagues.
The 29-year-old Margot, a highly regarded defensive player, would join a Dodgers outfield that features James Outman in center, Chris Taylor in left and Jason Heyward in right. Betts is expected to move to second base full-time in 2024, leaving potential at-bats for Margot against left-handed pitchers. Margot hit .264 with four home runs, 38 RBIs and nine steals last season. His contract pays him $10 million this year and includes a $12 million mutual option for 2025, with a $2 million buyout.
Glasnow has been with the Rays since 2018, when they acquired him from the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of a trade for right-hander Chris Archer. In six seasons with Tampa, the 6-foot-8 Glasnow, who struck out more than a third of the hitters he faced in 2023 – went 27-16 with a 3.20 ERA over 388⅓ regular-season innings. He has a 5.72 ERA in 10 career playoff starts.
A variety of injuries (forearm strain, an elbow sprain and an oblique strain) have limited the right-hander, and after 14 dominant starts in 2021, he underwent Tommy John surgery. Glasnow returned to make two starts in 2022 and pitched in 21 games last season, increasing his career strikeout rate to 11.5 per nine innings, the second-highest mark among pitchers who have started at least two-thirds of their games and thrown 500-plus innings. He features a fastball, slider and overhand curveball.
In addition to free agent prize Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has met with the Dodgers among other teams, there are several notable pitchers on the trade market, including Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease, Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes and Cleveland’s Shane Bieber (Laguna Hills High). Glasnow, Burnes and Bieber are all due to become free agents after the 2024 season.