Cody Snavely
As the Dodgers season progresses into June and the summer heat intensifies, the anticipation for Kershaw’s return to the mound is palpable. Alongside Bobby Miller, the left-handed veteran is also on the brink of starting his rehab assignment.
Kershaw, who re-signed with the Dodgers on a one-year deal with a player option for the 2025 season, had his first significant surgery on his throwing shoulder this offseason, which is why he has been sidelined for the entire 2024 season so far.
However, upon inking his new deal to stay with the Los Angeles Dodgers for his seventeenth Major League season, he began his throwing program once the team broke for camp.
On May 7th, Kershaw was seen taking the mound at Dodgers stadium and throwing a bullpen session with catcher Austin Barnes, who said he still looked like old Kershaw.
In that session, Kershaw threw around twenty pitches, all fastballs, and stated that the next step over the coming days was to incorporate more offspeed and then face live batters.
However, yesterday, Dodgers media witnessed Kershaw facing his first live batters since undergoing surgery. In the session, Kershaw faced off against Chris Taylor, Austin Barnes, and Minor Leaguer Kendall George. Kershaw also used his full pitch mix in the session.
During his pregame scrum, Dave Roberts stated that Kershaw “touched” 88mph during the session and that he is on his spring training schedule, which puts him at about six weeks out.
I feel alright. Shoulder feels healthy and now it’s just a matter of building your pitches back up and getting ready to go.
Clayton Kershaw remarks to the media after facing live hitters
What is next for the future Hall of Famer? After this live batter session, Kershaw is scheduled to throw two more in the coming days before being shipped on a minor league rehab assignment.
This aligns well with what Kershaw stated after the surgery in his Instagram posting: he hopes for a “mid-summer” return date. With it being the first week of June, a six-week timetable would potentially put Kershaw back on the Dodgers staff by August.
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