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Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw Likely Out Until September

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There’d been some recent hope that Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw could make it back to the mound in the near future. The three-time Cy Young winner is on the IL with forearm inflammation but had progressed to throwing a bullpen session and was slated to throw a 60-pitch simulated game. Manager Dave Roberts, however, said recently that Kershaw was dealing with “residual soreness” following his latest session, and the skipper now tells reporters that he expects Kershaw to return “sometime in September” (Twitter link via Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times).

It’s been nearly a month since Kershaw initially landed on the injured list, and one can only imagine that the uncertainty surrounding his current status was a driving factor in the Dodgers’ decision to aggressively pursue rotation help over the past week. President of baseball ops Andrew Friedman and his staff have acquired Max Scherzer and Danny Duffy via trade, and they’ve also signed Cole Hamels to a Major League deal for the remainder of the season.

Duffy and Hamels, like Kershaw, are down-the-road additions. Duffy is on the injured list for a second time this season owing to a forearm strain and is likely out until the middle of this month. Hamels, meanwhile, needs to build up arm strength before returning to a Major League mound. He pitched just 3 1/3 innings for the Braves in 2020 due to shoulder and triceps injuries.

For the time being, they’ll lean on Scherzer, Walker Buehler and Julio Urias in the top three spots of the rotation. Former Cy Young winner David Price, who’d been in the bullpen, will start tonight for the fifth time since Kershaw went on the injured list. His most recent outing had been a one-inning relief stint on Aug. 1, but he tossed 64 pitches on July 29 and 74 pitches on July 23, so he’s still fairly well stretched out.

At 65-44, the Dodgers are tied with the Brewers for the second-best record in baseball. No club has a better run differential than L.A.’s mark of +164. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, the only team in the game with a better record is the first-place Giants, who lead the NL West by a margin of four games as of this writing. Slotting Scherzer in alongside Buehler and Urias gives the Dodgers an outstanding top three on which to rely, but Kershaw’s absence still looms large.

The 33-year-old Kershaw is in the midst of yet another excellent season, having pitched to a 3.39 ERA in 106 2/3 frames. That earned run average, incredibly, is his “worst” since his rookie season in 2008, but Kershaw is also sporting his best strikeout percentage (30.1) since 2016 and the fifth-lowest walk percentage (4.5) of any Major League pitcher with at least 100 innings this season. He’s in the final season of a three-year, $93MM contract and is scheduled to become a free agent at season’s end.

Injury Updates: Brito, Marte, Belt, La Stella, Kershaw

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Phillies Triple-A prospect Daniel Brito collapsed in the first inning of today’s game, and had to be taken off the field via ambulance.  According to a statement released by the team, Brito is currently undergoing surgery at a local hospital, but no other details were provided.  (Sal Maiorana of The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle has a fuller account of the on-field situation.)

Brito is in his sixth pro season, all in the Phillies organization, and he earned his first promotion to Triple-A after hitting .296/.363/.457 in 275 PA for Double-A Reading this season.  We at MLB Trade Rumors wish all the best for Brito in the wake of this terrifying incident, and we hope he has a full recovery.

More on injury situations from around baseball…

  • The Diamondbacks reinstated Ketel Marte off the 10-day injured list today.  Marte missed just over a month due to a left hamstring strain, and between this injury and a right hamstring strain earlier in the season, Marte has appeared in only 37 games in 2021.  On the plus side, Marte had been hitting extremely well (.370/.419/.556 in 148 PA) when he was able to play, so he still has two months to salvage something positive from what has been a lost season for the D’Backs.  Since Arizona had no intention of dealing Marte or any other core players, the IL stint seemingly didn’t scuttle any potential Marte trades prior to the deadline.
  • Giants manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle) that Brandon Belt and Tommy La Stella are hopefully within 7-10 days of rejoining the team.  Belt has missed a little over a month with a knee injury, while La Stella hasn’t played since May 2 due to both a hamstring injury and a fractured hand.
  • There is some doubt as to whether or not Clayton Kershaw will make his 60-pitch sim game tomorrow, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times) that the star left-hander has “some residual soreness” in his throwing elbow.  A bout of forearm inflammation sent Kershaw to the IL on July 7, and while he was expected back in August, this development could possibly throw a wrench into that timeline.  To be clear, Roberts indicated that Kershaw might still throw the 60-pitch anyway, just that it wasn’t set in stone that the sim game would indeed take place as planned.

NL West Injury Notes: Weathers, Bellinger, Betts, Kershaw, Belt, Crawford, Kelly

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Padres left-hander Ryan Weathers was activated off the 10-day injured list earlier today, and he marked the occasion with four shutout innings and his first career home run in San Diego’s 3-2 loss to the Marlins.  Weathers had to be helped off the field after suffering what looked like an ugly leg injury on July 11, though he ended up only fracturing a small bone in his right ankle.  He looked none the worse for wear today, which is a nice boost to a Padres team that has battled through multiple pitching injuries and might yet look to add more arms by the trade deadline.

More injury updates from around the NL West…

  • Cody Bellinger is day-to-day after leaving Friday’s game due to hamstring tightness, though Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told The Los Angeles Times’ Jeff Miller and other reporters that Bellinger was on the field working out prior to today’s game.  When he does return, Bellinger might be utilized at first base in order to reduce his running, Roberts said.
  • Roberts also had more updates on other injured Dodgers stars, including Mookie Betts’ continuing right hip problems.  Betts received a cortisone shot and the plan is for the outfielder to play on Tuesday when the Dodgers begin a series with the Giants.  Betts hasn’t played since July 19 and hasn’t started a game since July 17.  Clayton Kershaw (placed on the 10-day IL with forearm inflammation on July 7) threw a bullpen session today and is slated for a simulated game on Tuesday.
  • Brandon Belt may be close to a rehab assignment, as the Giants first baseman ran the bases today as he continues to work his way back from knee inflammation.  Belt told reporters (including John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle) that he feels “way better than I thought I was going to feel at this point,” considering that there was some consideration of knee surgery when he initially hurt his knee almost exactly one month ago.  Belt intends to wear a protective sleeve over his knee when he returns to the field.
  • In other positive injury recovery news for the Giants, Brandon Crawford began baseball activity today.  Crawford was placed on the 10-day IL with what was considered to be a minor left oblique strain on July 19, and it looks like Crawford will indeed only be out of action for a minimal amount of time.
  • Diamondbacks catcher Carson Kelly will began a rehab assignment on Thursday and will move to High-A Hillsboro on Sunday, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert tweets.  A fractured wrist sent Kelly to the injured list on June 20, interrupting an outstanding season for the 27-year-old backstop.  Kelly has hit .260/.385/.460 with eight home runs over 187 plate appearances.

West Notes: Kershaw, Rendon, Trout

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The Dodgers expect to get ace Clayton Kershaw back sometime in August, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). That makes for a significant chunk of time away for Kershaw, who hit the injured list on July 17th. A couple of weeks time away isn’t jaw-dropping for most, but for one of if not the best pitcher of his generation, any amount of time away must concern the Dodger faithful. Kershaw owns a 3.39 ERA/2.99 FIP over 106 1/3 innings this season. Elsewhere in LA…

  • Anthony Rendon isn’t feeling much better, though the Angels don’t classify his injury right now as serious. He won’t be back until the end of July or early part of August, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Rendon hasn’t yet gotten going at the plate this season, suffering as he has from a number of ailments. His 98 wRC+ isn’t awful for most, but it’s far from what we’ve come to expect from Rendon.
  • Mike Trout, Harris adds, has yet to receive a rehab assignment, though he continues to progress nicely. Despite missing Trout, the Angels have remained afloat in the playoff hunt with an even 45-45 record.

Dodgers Place Clayton Kershaw On Injured List With Forearm Inflammation

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The Dodgers announced they’re placing ace Clayton Kershaw on the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his left forearm. Righty Mitch White has been recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take his spot on the active roster.

No timeline has been placed on Kershaw’s return, but any injury to a pitcher’s forearm is obviously of some concern. It’s particularly alarming when that pitcher is a player of Kershaw’s caliber. While he’s no longer the best pitcher in the sport like he was at his peak, the three-time Cy Young Award winner remains a highly-effective hurler. Through 106 1/3 innings this season, Kershaw has worked to a 3.39 ERA with fantastic strikeout and walk rates (30.1% and 4.5%, respectively).

An IL stint for Kershaw only adds to the likelihood the Dodgers acquire some starting pitching depth in advance of the July 30 trade deadline. The reigning World Series champions are still amidst a three-way battle in the NL West. Los Angeles trails the Giants by half a game and sits three games up on the third-place Padres.

Getting Kershaw back for the stretch run is obviously of paramount importance for the organization as they look to defend their championship. It’s also pivotal for Kershaw personally, as he’s slated to hit free agency at the end of the season. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes slotted the 33-year-old southpaw ninth on his most recent free agent power rankings last month.

Clayton Kershaw: “No Intention” Of Retiring Soon

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FEBRUARY 21: In what’s sure to be welcome news to Dodger fans, Kershaw said this afternoon he has “no intention” of retiring any time soon (via Juan Toribio of MLB.com). The star left-hander believes he has “a few years left in the tank.”

FEBRUARY 15: Clayton Kershaw is about to enter his 14th season in the Major Leagues, and the final season of his current three-year, $93MM deal with the Dodgers.  Could it also be the final season of what will surely be a Hall Of Fame career?

“I’ll just say, I don’t know,” Kershaw told Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times.  “I have no idea. I do know that I still love it and I have a blast.”

The Dodgers have yet to discuss a potential contract extension with their longtime ace, and Kershaw was again non-committal when asked if he wanted a new deal: “I don’t know.  Honestly, I wish I had an answer.”  The left-hander said his goals are simply to earn “my teammates’ respect and I just want to pitch well as long as I can.  So all that other stuff will take care of itself.”

Kershaw is still relatively young, as he doesn’t turn 33 until next month.  However, he has already dealt with a number of injury problems during his career, while pitching a combined 2522 innings in the regular season and postseason.  There’s also the fact that Kershaw’s baseball bucket list could hardly be more complete now that he has finally won a World Series and erased some past struggles in the playoffs.  Kershaw’s championship ring is the latest addition to a resume that includes three NL Cy Young Awards, eight All-Star appearances, the 2014 NL MVP Award, and a reputation as one of the best pitchers of all time.

Kershaw admitted that he “wasn’t as enthused to get back going again” for his winter training regiment in the wake of the Dodgers’ title, though he sees it as more of a change in motivation rather than a lack thereof.  “It’s a great problem to have,” he explained.  “I think every offseason in the past it’s been, ’I just want to get this done. I just want to do it, do it, do it.’  And there’s this passion and it just constantly builds and builds and builds.  And now the pressure is just because we have a great team and we’re supposed to win.  That’s awesome.”

As Castillo noted, the fact that the interview at Kershaw’s home even took place represented a shift in the left-hander’s perspective, given how Kershaw has been very private over the years.  Kershaw and his wife Ellen have three children, and while the family often traveled together in pre-COVID times, Ellen Kershaw said that “it’s not as easy to pull [the kids] out of school and get us to L.A. during the season” as the children get older.

One possible bridge between family and baseball endeavors would be a free agent deal with the Rangers next offseason — Kershaw’s family lives in his hometown of Dallas throughout the offseason.  It isn’t clear, however, whether Kershaw would consider the Rangers or any other team besides the Dodgers if he does continue his career, as he stressed how much he has enjoyed playing in Los Angeles.

Dodgers Name Clayton Kershaw Starter For Game 1

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As expected, the Dodgers are starting Clayton Kershaw in tomorrow night’s World Series Game 1, the team announced to reporters (including Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times). The three-time Cy Young winner will oppose Rays fireballer Tyler Glasnow.

Kershaw hasn’t started since Thursday’s NLCS Game 4, so he’ll be going on normal rest. The 32-year-old is no longer the sport’s best pitcher, but he put together another fantastic season in 2020. Across ten starts, Kershaw pitched to a 2.16 ERA with high-end strikeout (28.1%), walk (3.6%) and groundball (53%) rates. He’s been similarly strong this postseason, allowing seven runs in 19 innings with a stellar 23:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Assuming the Dodgers don’t want to pitch Kershaw on short rest, this would also set him up to take the ball in Sunday’s Game 5. Unlike the past few rounds, the World Series has scheduled off days on Thursday and next Monday.

 

Dodgers Considering Options For Game Seven Starter

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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts declined the opportunity to definitively name his game seven starter after tonight’s win, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group and others (via Twitter).

Tony Gonsolin lines up for the job after stepping in to start game two for Clayton Kershaw. Gonsolin is not the guy the Dodgers would plan in a vacuum to take the ball in a must-win moment, but he nonetheless remains the most likely to see chunk innings tomorrow night, per MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (via Twitter). The 26-year-old Gonsolin served as as swingman the past two seasons for the Dodgers, performing ably to a 2.60 ERA/3.02 FIP across 86 2/3 innings. His game two start was his first and only postseason appearance, however. He lasted 4 1/3 innings, giving up 5 earned runs on 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7.

Kershaw will be on just two days rest after back spasms scratched him from his originally-scheduled game two start. Roberts will check in with him tomorrow to see about the possibility of appearing in relief, notes Gurnick. Kershaw in relief hasn’t always ended the way the Dodgers would have liked, including last postseason when he surrendered back-to-back home runs to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto to tie a similar win-or-go-home game five of the NLDS. Still, he’s a weapon if he’s available. In that same game against the Nationals, remember, he entered the game to retire Adam Eaton – which he did, via strikeout. It was only when pushed to another inning that the Nats’ big guns got the best of him.

The Dodgers could turn to Julio Urías in a similar capacity, though Urías would be throwing on three days rest after tossing over 100 pitches in game three’s shellacking. After tonight, Walker Buehler is probably the only arm on the roster who is absolutely outside the realm of possibility. Closer Kenley Jansen could also be a difficult call. He’s returned to form, but an outing tomorrow night would be three consecutive games and four in the last five.

Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register put forth an interesting suggestion (via Twitter): Brusdar Graterol could function as an opener to be followed by Gonsolin and Urías. The hard-throwing Graterol has to be pretty high up the list in terms of likelihood of seeing action – especially since he didn’t make his way into game six. Putting him out there to start the game would certainly be interesting. He was a starter for most of his minor league career with the Twins, after all.

Clayton Kershaw Scratched From Game 2, Tony Gonsolin To Start

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1:40PM: Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times (Twitter links) and other reporters that chances are “very good” that Kershaw will pitch in the NLCS but he won’t be starting Game 3.  Kershaw’s back spasms developed during his bullpen session on Sunday, Roberts said.

11:57PM: The Dodgers have optimism that Kershaw can be back for Game 4, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets.  “If his back improves relatively quickly,” there’s a chance Kershaw could even be ready for Game 3.

11:02PM: Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw has been scratched from his scheduled start in today’s Game 2 of the NLCS due to back spasms.  Tony Gonsolin will instead take the ball to start against the Braves.

Kershaw has dealt with back problems at various points during this career, including a bout of back tightness that put him on the injured list for the first week of the 2020 season.  Naturally, the timing couldn’t be much worse for Kershaw to again suffer back woes just hours before the start of Game 2, and the question now becomes when exactly the longtime Dodger ace will be able to pitch again.

Depending on the severity of the spasms, Kershaw could potentially start Wednesday’s Game 3, though that would seem to be a quick turn-around.  Assuming the spasms are minor, Kershaw could be held off until Game 4 on Thursday, in what could be a series-deciding game should Los Angeles fall behind 3-0.

The Dodgers had been relying on Walker Buehler and Kershaw as the cornerstone of their postseason rotation plan, with the duo starting the first two games of each playoff series thus far.  Dustin May started Game 3 of the NLDS against the Padres, and some combination of May, Gonsolin, and Julio Urias was expected to handle the third and fourth starter duties for the remainder of the playoffs, the Dodgers also making liberal use of their bullpen.  Alex Wood was also added to the Dodgers’ NLCS roster to provide even more pitching depth given the lack of off-days throughout the series.

More immediately, Gonsolin now faces the immediate and unexpected pressure of having to keep Los Angeles out of an 0-2 series deficit in his postseason debut.  Gonsolin has impressed over his two MLB seasons, posting a 2.60 ERA, 3.77 K/BB, and 8.6 K/9 over 86 2/3 innings, starting 14 of his 20 career games.  It is something of a tribute to the Dodgers’ depth that a promising young arm like Gonsolin wasn’t even a full-time starter for them heading into October, but he will have a stiff test in a Braves lineup that crushed right-handed pitching this season.

Dodgers Updates: Starters, Urías, Ríos

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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke to a number of reporters today, including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Roberts addressed a number of issues heading into their NLCS match-up with the Braves. First and foremost, as with the two rounds before, Walker Buehler will start game one, and Clayton Kershaw will start game two. Anything beyond that is too early to call.

Julio Urías was a key contributor for the Dodgers against the Padres, and according to Roberts, he will continue to see “meaningful innings,” per MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (via Twitter). Urías’ role has changed year-to-year as health and performance have allowed, but come playoff time he tends to – like Kenta Maeda before him – transition into a key bullpen weapon for Roberts. His outings have lengthened this postseason, however, as he’s thrown a total of 8 innings over 2 appearances with a full week of rest between them. In this unprecedented 7-game series in 7 days, Urías could be asked to fill any number of roles.

The same can be said for Dustin May, who managed to both start a game and pitch out of the bullpen in their 3-game NLDS sweep of the Padres. Though he totaled just 3 innings – likely less volume than they could have gotten from him had his usage been limited to a single start – spreading out his outings allowed Roberts to “maximize his impact on multiple games,” per Plunkett. Of course, Roberts was able to follow up May’s 1-inning “opener” outing in game three with Urías for five innings, a luxury he may or may not have in a longer series.

In all likelihood, others on the staff are going to have to provide some length. Tony Gonsolin would have started a game four against San Diego, and he threw a simulated game today. That probably lines him up again for a potential game four or five. He could also come out of the bullpen, of course, as he has on occasion the last two seasons. Roberts and others aren’t just hiding the ball when they say pitcher usage depends on the outcomes of the first couple of games – it really depends on the outcomes of the first couple of games.

On the other side of the ball, Edwin Ríos is about 75% healthy, per Plunkett. He’s a game-time decision, per say, for the NLCS. He was left off of the NLDS because of a groin injury, and if there’s any doubt about his recovery, the Dodgers are likely to be prudent and either go with Gavin Lux again or add another arm to their 14-man staff. Ríos at his best provides a power bat off the bench (or at designated hitter), which could still be useful even if he’s not healthy enough to play the field. While they’re not likely to plan it this way, if there’s any team that has the versatility and depth to carry a single-use bat, it’s the Dodgers.

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