Cody Snavely
LOS ANGELES— Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed today, prior to tonight’s game against the Chicago Cubs, that veteran left-handed starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw would begin a minor league rehab assignment on Wednesday.
Kershaw, 37, has missed the entire season until this point after having offseason knee and toe surgery, the second time in his career he had to repair his body surgically.
The eighteen-year veteran re-signed with Los Angeles just as the team reported to spring training in Glendale, Arizona, at Camelback Ranch for a 1-year, $7.5 million deal that can reach $16 million with numerous escalators.
Kershaw appeared in a handful of games last season after missing the entire first half of the regular season recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
After making his regular season debut in July last season at Dodger Stadium against their National League West rival, the San Francisco Giants, the lefty would only make six more starts, pitching to a 4.50 ERA in thirty innings.
Kershaw was having his season end prematurely, and due to a nagging toe and knee injury that had been bothering him for several seasons, the lefty would be unable to join the Dodgers before their October run.
Earlier this week, while the team was in Washington D.C. to accept the White House invitation and meet President Trump, Clayton Kershaw joined them and threw a bullpen at Nationals Park on Monday.
Kershaw confirmed that his rehab was going well and that his toe injury, which he was still rehabbing from, was the last hurdle before getting into games.
Kershaw also stated that he had already faced hitters at the Dodgers Ariozna complex last week and was in line to face more next Thursday. However, that appears to have changed, with the lefty already going on a rehab assignment.
In an interview with Foul Territory, while the Dodgers were still in spring training, Kershaw told hosts Alana Rizzo and A. J. Pierzynski that he was aiming for a June return, and it seems that he is well on track to make that happen.
Kershaw’s rehab assignment will not be quick, as he is essentially being built up from scratch. It’ll likely take the left-hander about a month of starts to get ready.
Once Kershaw returns, he’ll be thirty-two strikeouts away from joining the 3000 strikeouts club. Despite his age and injuries, Kershaw has been elite when healthy, posting a 2.46 ERA during the 2023 season.
Kershaw has a career 2.50 ERA and a combined 79.4 bWAR, which is the most of any Dodgers player in team history, in both Brooklyn and Los Angeles.
Also continuing their rehab assignment is right-handed pitcher Tony Gonsolin, who will make his third start in Triple-A OKC on Tuesday.
Overall, in his two rehab assignments, Gonsolin has thrown five innings without allowing an earned run, striking out eight, walking three, giving up two hits, and posting a 1.00 WHIP.
The Dodgers’ surplus of pitching has already been put to the test. Lefty Blake Snell is on the 15-day Injured List with shoulder inflammation, and the team has already had to use two starters in his absence.
The return of Gonsolin and Kershaw later this summer will be insurmountable as the team looks for more stability in the starting rotation before the dog days of summer.
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