The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without Clayton Kershaw through the All-Star break as he was placed on the 15-day injured list due to left shoulder soreness.
Kershaw left his start last week after making just 79 pitches through six scoreless innings, telling Dodgers manager Dave Roberts he could no longer remain in the game. Kershaw initially suggested he wouldn’t need a stint on the IL.
The 35-year-old was treated with a cortisone injection and didn’t throw until Saturday. He then played catch again Sunday, but did not throw a bullpen session or any breaking pitches.
Kershaw’s IL stint was backdated to Friday, which makes Saturday, July 15, the earliest he can be activated. “Any time you have to take time off, it’s frustrating,” the 10-time All-Star said.
“Disappointing. Just the way the season was going, I had hoped I could make it through a full season. Haven’t done that in a while and it’s always something that I want to do. So any time it doesn’t work out, that’s definitely frustrating for me.
“But I guess where we’re at in the season and with the break, it’s probably overall a good thing to take a little break now. Ideally, I wish I could’ve skipped a start and made the next one, but that’s not where we’re at with our pitching. Sometimes roster decisions take precedent, and I understand that.
“Once again, frustrating, disappointing. Shoulder does feel better now, so it’s trending upward. I feel confident I’ll be ready after the break. Just try to find stuff to do for the next week, I guess.”
Kershaw has been able to throw three consecutive days, which is an encouraging sign, and the hope remains he will only miss one start thanks to the All-Star break.
“I think I’ve responded pretty well to the shot overall,” Kershaw said. “At some point, it gets harder to tell. You are sore from getting the shot and stuff like that, but I think that’s kind of subsiding and medicine is starting to work a little bit. I’m confident it’s working.”
One more encouraging sign is Kershaw thinks he may have been able to pitch with just a few extra days of rest. However, with the current state of the rotation, that wasn’t an option, and thanks to the timing of the break, the Dodgers can give him enough time off to make sure he fully returns healthy.
“Ideally, I would’ve loved to have a few more days to make a decision and be able to give it a little more time,” Kershaw said. “Today probably wasn’t going to be an option because I had to take a few days off on the front end. I don’t know if I could’ve pitched this week or not. I would’ve liked to have tried, obviously, but that was a little bit above my pay grade.”
Kershaw has dealt with multiple injuries in the past, which has limited him each of the past few seasons. While the Dodgers may have expected him to miss some time again, Kershaw was still hopeful to make his start every fifth day.
“It’s what you’re supposed to do,” Kershaw said. “You sign up to pitch a full season. There’s no reason to take a break just to take a break. I don’t think that does anything. So for me, it’s disappointing.”
With the decision, the Dodgers have now seen all of their Opening Day rotation spend time on the IL, which includes Julio Urías, Dustin May, Noah Syndergaard and Michael Grove.
In addition, Tony Gonsolin and Ryan Pepiot have both been on the IL as well, with the latter yet to throw a pitch this season. Walker Buehler remains out due to Tommy John surgery he underwent last year.
Clayton Kershaw traveling to Seattle for MLB All-Star Game
Kershaw was selected to the All-Star Game for the 10th time in his career, which tied the Dodgers franchise record that originally was held by Pee Wee Reese. While the southpaw is upset he will no longer be able to participate in the tournament, he will still travel to Seattle to be part of the festivities.
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