Los Angeles Dodgers Spring Training got off to a good start this year, although that did not last long. Shortly after being named the club’s Opening Day starter for a franchise-record ninth consecutive year, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was uncharacteristically given a day off.
The reason for that was Kershaw was frustrated with his bullpen session earlier in the week and wasn’t feeling quite right. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts provided an update on Kershaw on Friday morning, saying he is back in camp but won’t be throwing until further notice.
“Clayton is here today. He will be in the weight room, in the training room, doing whatever he needs to do to get ready,” Roberts said.
“He just didn’t feel right a couple days ago. For us right now, Clayton doesn’t want to miss a workout, so when he says he doesn’t feel right, when you’re looking at the calendar, to push things back is prudent. To say when he’s going to throw his next ‘pen, I can’t say right now. We’re sort of leaving that to him and the trainers to figure out when that is. Right now, to just kind of step away and give him a couple days, that’s what we want to do.”
Roberts continued to maintain Kershaw’s frustration didn’t stem from a health issue. “More just physically, just didn’t feel right in his ‘pen and then the last live session. To recalibrate, reset, will help him.
“Not fatigue, not back. Just kind of arm kind of thing. He did great work this winter. It’s more of just, you don’t feel right (so) let’s kind of get back in the weight room, get your treatment, get back and then reset.”
All reports on Kershaw at the beginning of camp were that he was feeling good physically. Roberts said he found out that wasn’t the case all along after his recent bullpen though.
“Right after the ‘pen (on Wednesday). After the live session four or five days ago, you could see he wasn’t too pleased,” Roberts noted. “I thought there was some good throws in there, ball was coming out good; and the same thing for the ‘pen a few days ago. But for him, he holds himself to a high standard and he really wasn’t pleased with how he felt.”
Kershaw dealt with both a bicep injury and a back injury that caused him to miss a handful of starts in 2018. While Roberts isn’t going to diagnose Kershaw with any sort of injury right now, he believes it could be a case of dead arm.
“It potentially could be. Typically, it does come on later in the spring, so I don’t want to go out there and say that’s what it is,” Roberts said. “I know when I listen to Clayton and the training staff, this is the right way to go about it.”
Kershaw currently is not scheduled to throw any bullpen or in any Cactus League games as the team will continue to monitor him and see when he is ready to get back on the mound. Roberts nonetheless downplayed there being any significant concern over the matter.
“I’m pretty good with reading players, reading Clayton, and listening to the training staff. No one is alarmed or worried about it.
“There’s plenty of time for him to get his ‘pens in and build up.”
