May 17: The Dodgers have activated Kershaw, as expected. Right-hander Ryan Loutos was optioned to the minor leagues to make room for Kershaw on the active roster, while southpaw Blake Snell was transferred to the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man roster. Given that Snell has already been on the shelf for nearly six weeks and has only recently resumed a throwing program, Snell’s transfer is largely a procedural move that does not necessarily indicate a change in his timetable for return.
May 13: Clayton Kershaw will make his season debut against the Angels on Saturday, manager Dave Roberts tells reporters (including David Vassegh of 570 Sports). The Dodgers will need to activate him from the 60-day injured list.
Kershaw opened the season on the 60-day IL as he recovers from offseason surgeries on his left knee and left foot. He has made five minor league rehab starts going back to April 16. He’s combined for a 2.57 ERA across 21 innings. Kershaw reached six innings in an appearance for the team’s complex affiliate on May 6. He threw four frames and 57 pitches during his most recent start for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday.
The future Hall of Famer signed an incentive-laden contract for what will be his 18th MLB season. While he’s only guaranteed $7.5MM, the deal contains $8.5MM in incentives depending on his workload. He’d unlock a $1MM bonus for making his 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th starts. The deal also contains roster bonuses. He’ll collect an additional $2.5MM for reaching 30 days on the active roster, $1MM for 60 days, and $1MM for 90 days.
Kershaw was limited to seven starts last season. He missed the first few months recovering from the shoulder procedure that he’d undergone late in 2023. Bone spurs in his foot sent him back to the injured list at the end of August. Kershaw wasn’t able to return for the World Series run. He finished the year with a 4.50 ERA across 30 innings.
In other Dodger rotation news, Roberts said that Roki Sasaki reported some arm soreness coming out of his start on Friday (via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). The team has not decided whether it’ll require an IL stint. Sasaki has gotten out to a rocky start to his MLB career. He has only completed six innings in one of his first eight outings. He has yet to record more than four strikeouts in a game and carries a 4.72 ERA with very poor strikeout and walk rates.
If Sasaki avoids the IL, Kershaw could push the Dodgers back to a six-man rotation. Injuries to Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow have dropped them to a five-man staff comprising Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Sasaki, and Landon Knack.
It would really benefit Sasaki to make some starts in AAA..
It would really benefit Sasaki to find his velocity.
In AAA
His velocity is there. He doesn’t need to “find” velocity. What he needs to do is find the strike zone. Once his command is fixed, the velocity will come.
His velocity is down since his debut and it’s any easy thing to look up.
Must be a sad life waking up every day to look for the down side of everything.
You’re just a little sensitive.
Sensitive has nothing to do with it. You’re not posting about me.
Every post of yours is negative. Every one. Says a lot about you.
Kersh requires incentives? As if.
If he meets the incentives, it’s probably quite a bargain for the Dodgers.
His incentives are another ring and 3000 Ks.
The pay structure was designed to reward him more or less based on his health. Both sides wanted it to fairly compensate under either alternative.
My point being, his contract contains performance bonuses. They are not incentives. Kershaw has always come to every game with all the motivation any manager could ever want or expect from a player.
Kershaw’s fastball topped out at 89.1 mph during his rehab starts.
Crafty veteran incoming.
Yeah, think this guy is gonna get shelled. He’s gotta be pinpoint with everything.
Kersh has never been shelled- even as he’s gotten older his numbers have been impressive.
Randy – you counting the playoffs in that statement?
Randy 8: Five runs in four innings for an 11.25 ERA last night. Sea shells, pasta shells, or mortar shells?
I assume that Randy means over a full season, because all of MLB’s greatest pitchers have isolated games where they are shelled.
Tonight the curveball and slider looked promising, but there were a couple balls too centered over the plate one was a fastball the other I could not tell what it was.
Dodgers will win the division Kershaw will reach 3000 Ks but 2023 may have been Kershaw’s last elite year. I think he’s got some good games left, but it is fair to say that he has to excel using experience and guile to offset physical decline. Good luck Clayton!
He got shelled yesterday.
Kiké’s four seamer tops out at 48 mph
As long as he doesn’t leave his curveball hanging, he will be fine.
DarrenDreifortsContract: As is true of many pitchers.
Does Knack really count as part of the official rotation?
This week.
The road to 3k strikeouts begins now!!!!!
That’s a good day to debut. The Angels will give him a confidence boost.
Kershaw needs a confidence boost just about as much as he needs incentives. Which is, not at all.
BS_LA – My comment was meant to bag on the Angels, not Kershaw. Let me know if you need further explanation.
No thanks. I made a point, and you didn’t. We can just let it go at that.
prov356: Five runs in four innings last night. Kersh gave the Angels a nice confidence boost.
A nice surprise for sure.
Kershaw is one of my all time favorites. Just not against my favorite team, ha ha.
Will definitely watch him live one last time before he heads to Cooperstown.
I commend you for supporting your Angels. That is dedication.
Better go tonight.
Knack up, Gonsolin back, Kershaw later this week.
Casparius in the pen,
Ohtani and Sheehan back around the All-Star Break.
Wrobleski and Miller in AAA.
Glasnow playing catch, Snell not.
They should be able to muddle through.
As long as they keep mashing.
highfly; I think that’s exactly what this pitching staff is going to do, muddle through the season. The F. O. needs to jack up the bottom 3rd of the lineup.
I would like to see Alex Freeland given a chance at 3rd and short giving Mookie a break from time to time. Will Smith sometime at 3rd also. Should be his or Freeland’s position in the near future.
Dalton Rushing some time in left field, catcher & first base when Freeman needs a day off.
Playing 3B is not a day off for a catcher. We will not see Smith there. The Dodgers already have a ton of SS depth on any day they want to sit Mookie, and on days when Freeman sits, Kike plays 1B.
BS-LA; so then what do the Dodgers do with their MiLB talent/prospects? From your reply doesn’t seem like you think they should be given a chance to see if they can do better than Conforto, Muncy, Barnes, Rojas & Taylor. The current bottom third of the lineup is weak. I know Teo & Edman are on the IL now
Nice question to ask in a vacuum, but it can’t be answered without addressing what happens to players already on the roster. Every team is faced with the problem of when to bring up minor leaguers. It’s uncommon for a team to torch a significant major league contract to do so, because at that point, the team isn’t just giving a prospect a chance, they are counting on him to perform.
Well this is kind of epic
If Mark Hamill can do it….
The Force is strong with Kershaw and his curveball.
I sincerely hope Kershaw pitches better than he did last season. He was too good for too long to go out on a season like he has in 2024. Go out on a bright note instead of limping into the HOF.
Kershaw will get rocked, and then a mysterious illness shall arise. Time to hang it up
I don’t think he has anything left, but I still picked him up on a couple of roto teams.
No hitter tonight!!!!!!
You called it.
Im confused. Sasaki is already on the 15 day IL…
Yeah and? Part of the article above was written 4 days ago.
The legend returns.
Not a dodgers fan myself but you really want this guy to end it on a high note. You don’t come across pitchers that can absolutely dominate during their entire career. Father time catches up to all of us eventually but I always root for the ones still willing to fight him.
First start will be 5 innings 2 runs allowed and a win. Rest of the season 3.2 ERA and one more stint on the IL.
Great to see one of the greatest modern day pitchers back to the hill.