Coming off a season in which he dealt with biceps tendinitis, more back trouble, and facing questions about his velocity and ability to succeed moving forward, Clayton Kershaw said he was fueled to silence critics in 2019.
Kershaw made his comments after signing a three-year, $93 million contract extension to bypass an opportunity to reach free agency for the second time. While the three-time Cy Young Award winner may very well go on to have a successful season, he remains shut down at Camelback Ranch.
The Dodgers excused Kershaw from a workout late last week, as he was dealing with frustration from throwing live batting practice and a bullpen session. He returned to camp the following day but has been limited to the weight room and training room.
Kershaw declined to provide any specifics about his status, only saying he was taking “a few days” to reset. The club was equally vague, though Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt revealed Kershaw was experiencing trouble in his “joint.”
Manager Dave Roberts confirmed Sunday morning his left-hander is battling an issue in his throwing shoulder.”Probably inflammation, getting ramped up, he did a lot of rest obviously throughout the winter, so cranking it back up just didn’t feel right,” Roberts said.
“So maybe if we can just kind of take the foot off the gas a little bit and hopefully get some treatment and introduce him again, he’ll feel better.
“It just didn’t feel right from his live BP, his bullpen, and the arm didn’t feel good. So he just said if we could maybe take a couple days to get away from it and treat it up and get some rest and start it back up.”
Roberts admitted shutting a pitcher down this early in camp is not common, but he reiterated there isn’t “cause for concern.”
Roberts surmised Kershaw’s desire to regain some velocity — his fastball averaged a career-low 91.4 miles per hour last season — may have contributed to the shoulder trouble. Nevertheless, Kershaw remains on the mend.
“He says he’s kind of starting to feel better,” Roberts said. “When he decides to pick up a baseball, we’ll see.”
