Roberts: Glasnow throwing on flat ground, return to mound still TBD

Tyler Glasnow is throwing baseballs again, but it's still unclear when the injured right-hander will be able to help the Los Angeles Dodgers' ailing rotation.

Glasnow, who has been on the injured list with shoulder inflammation since late April, began a throwing program earlier this week. However, he's only throwing on flat ground, manager Dave Roberts noted Thursday.

"From what I hear, the catch play, the flat-ground stuff has been good. I'm not sure when he's going to get on the mound, though," Roberts told Matthew Moreno of Dodger Blue 1958 ahead of Thursday's game against the Athletics.

Glasnow visited with Neal ElAttrache - the noted orthopedic surgeon who is also the Dodgers' head physician - on Monday, Matt Borelli of DodgerBlue.com reported earlier this week.

This shoulder issue is the latest ailment to befall Glasnow, who's struggled to stay healthy throughout his career. Although he threw a career-high 134 innings in 2024, he's never made more than 22 starts in a season and missed last year's World Series run because of an elbow injury.

Glasnow posted a 4.50 ERA with 23 strikeouts and 11 walks over five early-season starts in 2025. He pitched into the sixth inning during just one of those outings, and he departed his most recent start April 27 after just one inning because of the shoulder issue. Glasnow landed on the IL a few days later.

He's one of 14 Dodgers pitchers on the IL with an array of injuries. L.A. entered play Thursday owning the best record in the National League despite being down to just four regular starters - Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, and Landon Knack. Reliever Matt Sauer was tabbed to start Thursday's game as an opener.

While the team is getting Clayton Kershaw back Saturday, his season debut will come a little more than a week after rookie Roki Sasaki landed on the IL with his own shoulder issue. Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell has also been out since April because of shoulder problems.