Dodgers Pitching Lab Reboots: Glasnow Returns, Ohtani Ramps Up

The Los Angeles Dodgers are finally rebooting their pitching lab just in time for the stretch run. Tyler Glasnow is returning to the rotation, Shohei Ohtani is throwing live batting practice, and Edwin Diaz is tossing bullpens again.

Getting Glasnow and Ohtani back on the mound is the baseball equivalent of finding a loaded bazooka in your garage right before a neighborhood water balloon fight. It almost feels unfair to the rest of the league.

Glasnow has been parked on the 60-day injured list with lower back spasms since May. After a strong final rehab start, he is officially slated to return to the mound on Tuesday when the Dodgers travel to face the Atlanta Braves.

Then there is Ohtani. The guy is already terrorizing pitchers as a designated hitter, but he just threw 30 pitches in live batting practice on Thursday. The team says one more live session could clear him to actually pitch in a real game this season.

Add in Edwin Diaz, who just threw a bullpen session while recovering from neck inflammation, and Los Angeles is suddenly reinforcing a pitching staff that desperately needed some good medical news.

For anyone holding Dodgers futures tickets, this is the exact update you were praying for. Los Angeles just took three of four from the Colorado Rockies and split a pair with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but surviving the regular season is not the goal for a roster with this much money on the books.

The real test starts Tuesday in Atlanta. If Glasnow looks like his usual dominant self and Ohtani keeps ramping up his arm strength, the rest of the National League is going to have a massive problem in October.