Glasnow blames UCL tear on MLB's foreign-substance crackdown

Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow is blaming his partially torn UCL and flexor strain on Major League Baseball's looming crackdown on foreign-substance use.

"I just threw 80-something innings and you just told me I can't use anything," Glasnow said, according to Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Florida. "I have to change everything. ... I truly believe, 100%, that's why I got hurt. I'm frustrated MLB doesn't understand. You can't just tell us to use nothing. It's crazy."

Glasnow added that he stopped using sunscreen, which is often combined with rosin to enhance a pitcher's grip on the ball, a couple of starts ago. He said he's since felt soreness due to issues with gripping the ball.

"I'm choking the shit out of all my pitches," Glasnow said, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN.

He also said it's the timing of the ban that is causing the most consternation.

"Do it in the offseason," Glasnow said, according to Rogers. "Give us a chance to adjust to it."

Glasnow also said pitchers and players alike have no issues with the use of sunscreen and rosin.

The 27-year-old has been a key contributor for the first-place Rays. He's 5-2 with a 2.66 ERA and 0.93 WHIP across 88 innings in 14 starts. While Glasnow's hoping to get back at some point this year, he's despondent about missing the bulk of the summer.

"My lifelong dream is I wanna win a Cy Young and be an All-Star, and now it's just shit on," Glasnow said, according to Whitaker. "Now it's over. Now I have to try to rehab to come back in the playoffs."