Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers met with back specialist Dr. Robert Watkins on Monday, yet the consultation did not produce a timetable. At least not one that the Dodgers are electing to publicly reveal.
“A strain for one person can be a certain time away and another person is different,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained Tuesday. “As opposed to a conventional surgery, where there’s a lot more data to say it is a certain timeline. Clayton, I know feels very comfortable and confident that he doesn’t want to put a timetable on himself.”
An unconfirmed report suggested the Dodgers would be without their ace for at least four weeks. Roberts previously intimated the projection was reasonable.
The plan for Kershaw is several days of rest without baseball activity to allow for pain to dissipate. “He won’t pick up a baseball until he’s asymptomatic,” Roberts said.
“When that is, I don’t know. I know he’s on medication right now and it’s a Level 1 core deal, which he’s very familiar with. We’ll know more as his medicine takes, and we’ll go from there.”
Roberts maintained the injury cropped up without Kershaw experiencing any symptoms or discomfort prior to a warmup pitch on Sunday. Roberts also reiterated last season’s injury — a mild herniated disc — is not part of the equation. “It’s a muscle strain,” Roberts reiterated. “Really encouraging for us.”
Although this now marks two consecutive years in which Kershaw’s back has betrayed him, the Dodgers are confident in the approach and changes that were made in light of the disc injury. “Clayton and the medical staff, they’ve vetted everyone. There’s been a lot of conversations on what he should do, can do, shouldn’t do, can’t do,” Roberts said.
“He’s abbreviated his regiment from the offseason to in-season and curtailed a lot of the workload. Knowing Clayton like we all do, no one works harder. There are going to be unforeseen things that do happen. Our guys have done everything they possibly can to minimize and prevent it.”
