Trade Bait Or Ace? The Complex Case Of The Dodgers' Willingness To Trade Tyler Glasnow

Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow has reportedly become a trade discussion point this offseason, with the team apparently "not opposed" to moving him despite his elite ability.

Contract Status

When he was traded to the Dodgers prior to the 2024 season, he quickly signed a five-year, $136.5 million extension. Currently, there are two guaranteed years and $81.6 million left on his deal. There is a $30 million club option for the 2028 season, which turns into a $21,562,500 player option if the club declines. The amount of money left on this deal complicates the ease of a trade, since many teams will likely not want to make that financial commitment. 

Dodgers Performance

When healthy, Glasnow has pitched to ace-level expectations during his time with the Dodgers. Across the 2024 and 2025 regular seasons, he posted a combined 2.98 xERA over 224 1/3 innings pitched with an impressive 30.6% strikeout rate and a 1.01 WHIP. 

Notably, his performance also shined in the postseason, where he recorded a 1.69 ERA over 21 1/3 innings during the Dodgers' 2025 World Series run.

While there is a high upside to Glasnow's performance, there are a few concerns about his future. The first, Glasnow walks way too many batters. In 2025, Glasnow posted an 11.7 BB%, a major drop-off from his 2025 rate of 6.7%. Glasnow’s chase percentage also dropped from the 33rd percentile in 2024 to the first percentile in 2025. There was a change in Glasnow’s arm slot and where his pitches landed, detailed by the statcast illustration below, that could be part of the reason he is not getting batters to chase his pitches.

The second is his injury history. His inability to consistently pitch a full season has been a career-long issue, significantly undermining his elite performance when healthy. Glasnow's injury timeline is dominated by arm, shoulder, and core issues, with the most severe being Tommy John surgery. Most recently, Glasnow was out for two months during the 2025 season with right shoulder inflammation.

This string of injuries has resulted in a startling lack of innings pitched for a pitcher of his caliber. Before setting a career high of 134 innings pitched in 2024, his previous high was 120 in 2023. In his 10 major league seasons, Glasnow has only reached the 100-inning mark three times. This track record, combined with his high-velocity, high-stress delivery and his contract guaranteeing him over $81 million through his age-34 season, makes him a significant gamble for any team.

How the Dodgers approach Glasnow's trade market will determine his value. If Los Angeles is willing to pay down some of his contract, more teams in need of pitching should show interest.