Dodgers and Tyler Glasnow reach a $135 million agreement.
According to sources who spoke to ESPN, right-handed starter Tyler Glasnow and the Los Angeles Dodgers are settling on a five-year, $135 million deal that, if signed, will formally mark the trade of Glasnow and outfielder Manuel Margot from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Dodgers.
Right-handed starter Ryan Pepiot and outfield prospect Jonathon Deluca will join the Rays as part of the deal, which was conditioned on Glasnow agreeing to a contract extension. The opportunity to do so opened on Thursday morning, and the parties moved swiftly to come up with a deal that will add four years and an additional $110 million to the $25 million that Glasnow was already owed for the 2024 season.
According to sources, there is no deferred money in Glasnow’s contract after Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s contract deferred $680 million of his $700 million guarantee. Glasnow, a Southern California native who signed with the Dodgers after 2025, can receive a portion of the freed-up cash flow. He joins Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman.
With the Dodgers holding a $30 million option for the 2028 season, Glasnow’s potential salary is up to $145 million. In the event that Los Angeles rejects it, Glasnow may exercise a $20 million option.
In the hopes that he will realize his enormous potential, the Dodgers will pay Glasnow like a front-line starter. One of the most dominant starting pitchers in the game and, absent injuries, one of the best starters in baseball, Glasnow is one of the most highly sought-after players available via trade. This year, in a career-high 120 innings, the hard-throwing right-hander finished 10-7 with a 3.53 ERA, 162 strikeouts, and 37 walks.
From the beginning of the offseason, Tampa Bay looked into trading 30-year-old Brett Glasnow. Although the Rays thought about keeping him, even at the $25 million salary they gave him as part of a contract extension in August 2022, the trade market’s value increased to the point where they had to part with their projected Opening Day starter.
The 26-year-old Pepiot was anticipated to be a part of the Dodgers rotation. He has prospered in parts of two seasons with them, moving between the rotation and the bullpen and posting a 2.76 ERA. With a 2.14 ERA and a 38-to-5 strikeout-walk ratio in 42 innings, Pepiot was especially excellent in 2023. His only mistake was that he gave up seven home runs. With just one year of service time under his belt going into the season, Tampa Bay will have five years to manage him before he becomes a free agent.
Deluca, 25, was selected by the Dodgers in the 25th round of the draft out of Oregon. He made his big league debut this year after steadily dominating minor league pitching over the course of four seasons. Deluca, who can play all three outfield positions, had good walk and strikeout rates while hitting.271/.357/.526 in the minor leagues.
Margot, a highly regarded defender who will earn $10 million this season, is going to accompany Glasnow. He will be joining an already-strong Dodgers outfield that includes Jason Heyward, James Outman, and Chris Taylor. Margot may get at-bats against left-handed pitchers, where his career OPS is almost 100 points higher than against righties, if Betts moves to second base full-time as anticipated.
Since the Rays acquired him, outfielder Austin Meadows, and top prospect Shane Baz in exchange for right-hander Chris Archer in 2018, Glasnow has been a member of the team. The 6-foot-8 Glasnow went 27-16 with a 3.20 ERA over 388â…“ innings in six seasons with the Rays. His high-90s fastball, low-90s slider, and big-breaking curveball allowed him to strike out over a third of hitters in 2023.
Glasnow’s injuries have limited him. In 2021, following 14 dominant starts, he had Tommy John surgery. After making two starts in 2022 and 21 appearances in 2023, Glasnow went on to raise his career strikeout rate to 11.5 per nine innings, which is the second-highest among pitchers who have thrown 500+ innings and started at least two-thirds of their games.
Other candidates for a trade include right-hander Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox, who is anticipated to be dealt in the upcoming weeks; Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes, who has been discussed in trade talks but there is no sign of a deal; and Cleveland’s Shane Bieber, who, like Burnes, is expected to become a free agent after this season.
