Clayton Kershaw will begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday, per Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says the plan is for Kershaw to throw three innings for their Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City. The star lefty has been out for more than 60 days, meaning he’s eligible to come off the 60-day IL at any time. Castillo also relays that another Dodgers starter, Tony Gonsolin, began a rehab assignment of his own yesterday. Both pitchers could potentially be activated soon if they don’t experience any setbacks.
If this all goes according to plan, it would be great news for the Dodgers and a rotation that has had to improvise for a lot of the season because of injuries. In addition to Kershaw and Gonsolin missing significant time, they lost Dustin May to Tommy John surgery. To cover for these losses, the club made the deadline additions of Max Scherzer and Danny Duffy, the latter of whom was also injured at the time and has yet to throw for his new team. They also signed Cole Hamels, only for him to suffer a season-ending injury before getting into a game.
Before going on the injured list, Kershaw was having another excellent season, throwing 106 1/3 innings with an ERA of 3.39 and excellent strikeout and walk rates of 30.1% and 4.5%, respectively. Gonsolin has also been effective when healthy this year, throwing 35 2/3 innings with a 2.78 ERA and solid 26.6% strikeout rate, although his walk rate of 16.5% is well above the 8.7% league average. Getting one or both of those hurlers back would be a tremendous help for a team that, despite the injuries, is locked into baseball’s tightest and most exciting pennant race, with the Dodgers and Giants sharing both the top spot in the NL West and the best record in baseball. (The Rays are also tied for the latter distinction.)
Kershaw’s return is also important for him personally as the 33-year-old is a few months away from reaching free agency for the first time in his career. Assuming he can stay healthy and pitch up to his usual standard, he’d be sure to receive and reject a qualifying offer at season’s end, before hitting the open market.
Dear Dodger Fans, we got a big kick out of your billboard thanking us for Mookie! We just wanted you to know that we feel the same about Dugie! Win/Win! Also we appreciate greatly your giving DP a home as far away from Boston as we could get him!
I miss Verdugo but I’m glad we got Betts and price has produced somewhat!
There’s no way you’re seriously trying to compare Verudgo to Mokkie freakin’ Betts…The copium is strong with your comment.
Alex Verdugo OPS+ = 109
Mookie Betts OPS+ = 138
LOL
The Dodgers, with Mookie, are making the postseason again. Worry not about billboards, but about making the wildcard. Good luck with that.
I’ll buy a ticket to see Betts play alone. Verdugo not so much.
Idk why y’all bagging on OP, it’s fair we did indeed give up Verdugo sure he isn’t Betts but Betts didn’t wanna be there they got value out of Betts
Verdugo is a knucklehead, you’ll figure it out soon enough.
You’re welcome Eck..
I think Dodgers fans are satisfied gettin DP with a Mookie over a Dugie any game. Now that shortstop, Jeter Downs, that was a big part of the trade and the guy is hitting .179 in AAA.
It’s funny that puig is still paying the dodgers dividends cause we got downs in the puig trade and now we have Mookie cause of downs
Also flipped Josiah Gray in part of Scherzer/Turner trade. We’ll see how Gray pans out but his stock improved while in the Dodgers farm system.
Lol. Hard to get rid of verdugo. He’s a stud and will be for a long time. However we have to maximize the opportunity now and we did. Mookie has already brought home a championship home and hopefully a few more. You need to worry about getting out of your division.
A healthy and rested Kershaw in the playoffs is integral to a Dodgers repeat. Buehler, Urias, Max and Kershaw would be a formidable foursome in a 5 or 7 game series.
Even assuming no setback in the rehab starts, Kershaw might not be built back up enough to start in the postseason. Gonsolin never got that far in the first place. So this could make for some interesting/creative choices if a #4 starter is needed in the postseason.
Kershaw wouldn’t be needed in the playoffs until Game 4 of the NLDS which would be mid October. I’m hoping he can be built up in the next five weeks provided there are no setbacks. Under this scenario, Gonsolin and Price would be in the BP to provide 2-3 innings when necessary.
Nonetheless, Kershaw, Gonsolin and Price are good options for a fourth SP, if needed.
Price is hurt now.
Probably true, but he does need to pitch between now and then, and sim games really aren’t the same preparation as real ones. I’m hopeful he’ll get in three starts between now and the postseason and be ready when the bell rings. The other options aren’t too pretty.
We’ll see. Still a bit of a long road for Kershaw. Just hope that he’s healthy. I don’t trust Price to start a playoff game. Same for Gonsolin. Playoff games are so much more of a grind physically and mentally. Price I think will just get hit too hard and Gonsolin’s walk rate is a potential disaster in the playoffs. Prefer to have both in the bullpen.
Blue right now, even if healthy, Price is now more than a glorified long reliever. 3-4 innings, at most. Not sure why he hasn’t been able to build up unless he is toast as a starter.
Agreed ,Kershaw is a necessary part of that rotation , hopefully his back doesn’t act up , must be frustrating
His back hasn’t been an issue for a couple of years.
Let’s remember the trade here was about Price, and what turned out to be 60 games of Mookie! Yeah! We made out like bandits getting 4 controllable years of Dugie. Now you can spend 12 years overpaying the dude! Let me know how that works out for you.
Dodgers get a world championship and Mookie wearing a Dodger hat in the hall of fame. Red Sox get a mediocre hitting catcher, a top 100 prospect who isn’t hitting at AAA and a slightly above average hitting OF. The cope is strong in Boston.
Verdugo was no loss, he won’t stay healthy and he’s no phi beta kappa. I’ll take a 70% Mookie for 12 years over Verdugo every time. In fact NO ONE in LA would undo the trade but I bet most in Boston would.
To Jordan 5: we always have to worry about getting out of our division. After all, it’s not the NL West!
Spitball you’re still paying 1/2 of Price’s salary.
The idea that the Dodgers will let Kershaw go to free agency is ridiculous. He is clearly a lifetime Dodger and their front office knows that. And I think that, at this point in his career, Kershaw doesn’t want (or need) to “change horses.” He’ll sign a two-year deal and retire a Dodger. Some players like Kershaw, Brandon Crawford, Posey, Freeman have just built up too much love with their fan bases—plus they’re still productive.
Technically he’ll go to free agency in that he probably won’t be extended before his contract runs up, but I agree he will be a Dodger for life. He’s more valuable to the Dodgers than to any other team in baseball.
I’m curious. I think it all depends on how willing Kershaw is to remaining a Dodger and taking a lesser contract which will probably be a two year type of deal as suggested.
MLB agreed. Not only that but I would much rather resign Scherzer than Kershaw. If they feel they can’t sign Kershaw and Mad Max, sadly Kershaw must go. In his peak and healthy years he started 32-33 games. Hasn’t done so for a long while. You can count on him being on the DL and missing 4-8 starts every year.
Just don’t overdo it Clayton. Wouldn’t want you to end up reinjuring yourself and being LOST for the year.
Sincerely, Giant fans.