Cody Snavely
One name absent from the Washington series, where the Dodgers took two of three in a rain-soaked affair, was Clayton Kershaw, who was scheduled to start the series finale. Roberts stated early in that series that Kershaw would have his start pushed a few days back, with many, including myself, thinking he would start last night’s game against the Padres. In the pre-game, Roberts stated that they will now push back Kershaw’s next start to Saturday in Seattle. This would give Kershaw ten full days of rest since his last start in Miami on September 5th.
Roberts also stated that Kershaw is as healthy as possible and will continue his throwing program with a heavy bullpen session between starts. This somewhat contradicts his previous statements after Kershaw’s start in Miami, where his velocity was down across the board. Dave Roberts said he believes Clayton Kershaw’s shoulder injury is impacting both his command & velocity; however, Kershaw could not have disagreed more, repeatedly stating, “I’m fine.”
The Dodgers starting rotation has been hit with a lot the past week with injuries, inconsistency, and, of course, the elephant in the room, Julio Urías, who was just put on administration leave due to his recent domestic violence arrest. An injury to Kershaw would be another massive blow to the already decimated rotation. However, Roberts did state Kershaw will likely not go on the IL and keep getting starts as we get closer to October while insisting that this pushback has more to do with setting up the rotation down the road.
What does it mean going forward?
When it was announced originally that Kershaw would start Friday, looking at the schedule that would put him potentially starting game one of the NLDS, which seemed like a no-brainer a few weeks ago, that as long as he was healthy, he would start that game. However, his being pushed to Saturday would open up the game one start and push him to game two. However, the Dodgers can shuffle their rotation however they want, as they will have an extended week off while the Wild Card games are being played.
However, we here at DodgersBeat and the Bleed Los Podcast have been arguing that Bobby Miller makes the most sense to start game one, and my conversation with Miller and Roberts also indicated that sentiment. However, a lot rides on the final three weeks of the season and how Kershaw and Miller both look in the final few starts they have. It is in the Dodgers’ best interests to be conservative with Kershaw, the NL West is all but wrapped up, and Roberts needs to manage with the thought of Kershaw’s health. That way, he is available and good to go in October.
What does the rotation look like come October?
While there is time for this to change, I think the Dodgers rotation come the Postseason will look like this.
- Bobby Miller
- Clayton Kershaw
- Ryan Pepiot
- Lance Lynn/Ryan Yarbrough
- Emmet Sheehan
You could swap Kershaw and Miller, but I believe it will 100% be those two guys for games one and two. After that, it entirely depends on what scenario that series is in. If they go up 2-0, I think it is more likely that Lynn would get the start, but if they are down or tied, expect Ryan Pepiot to get that nod. With how the scheduling looks for the NLDS, the Dodgers could realistically get by with a three-person rotation if needed, moving Sheehan and Yarbrough to the pen for potential piggyback starts.
