The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Clayton Kershaw underwent an MRI that confirmed left bicep tendinitis. He’s set to begin a rehab process on Monday, and a timetable for return was not provided.
On Sunday the Dodgers placed Kershaw on the 10-day disabled list due to the injury, and he returned to Los Angeles to be examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache. There was the option to make Kershaw’s DL stint retroactive to May 2, though the club did not go that route.
This now marks a third consecutive season in which Kershaw has been placed on the DL, and the fourth year since going on the disabled list in 2014 for the first time in his career.
Thus far in 2018 he’s 1-4 with a 2.86 ERA, 3.73 FIP and 1.14 WHIP in seven starts. Kershaw’s fastball velocity has noticeably been lower than his career average, and it was a pitch he’d been using less frequently this season.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner joins Logan Forsythe, Yasiel Puig, Corey Seager and Justin Turner, among others, on the disabled list. Seager is out for the remainder of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, while Forsythe, Puig and Turner are expected to return in the near future.
For Kershaw, the injury further complicates a decision on whether to exercise his opt-out clause this winter. But being that it is only bicep tendinitis, a strong performance once being activated off the DL would ease any concern.
