The Los Angeles Dodgers officially placed Clayton Kershaw on the 10-day injured list, snapping his franchise-record streak of consecutive Opening Day starts at eight. Kershaw’s IL stint is retroactive to Monday, making him eligible to return Thursday, April 4.
The 31-year-old was predictably slated to take the ball for the Dodgers in their season opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but was shut down early in to Spring Training because of inflammation in his throwing shoulder.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts nonetheless maintained Kershaw was the club’s Opening Day starter. He even left open the possibility of an unconventional start. Roberts didn’t formally rule out his ace until the middle of March.
After years of health, Kershaw’s first time being sidelined was in 2014 when he missed time because of a teres major strain. Then in June 2016 he suffered from a herniated disc in his lower back, July 2017 saw Kershaw sit out due to a lower back strain, last May he dealt with left biceps tendinitis, and he was shelved again in June 2018 because of another back strain.
Kershaw, Roberts and the Dodgers have largely downplayed any concern with the latest injury; even during the initial stages when public details were few and far between. Kershaw is scheduled to throw a second simulated game over the weekend as he continues to make steady progress toward a return.
In addition to Kershaw, the Dodgers also placed Tony Cingrani and Rich Hill on the injured list in conjunction with setting their Opening Day roster.
