Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will return to the Major League soon. Although he is not physically fit enough to throw 100 pitches, he has played his third rehabilitation game, raising the possibility of an early return.
Kershaw, who is in rehabilitation for Triple-A Oklahoma City under the Dodgers, started the game against the Round Rock Express (under the Texas Rangers) at Round Rock Del Diamond in Texas on the 20th (Korea Standard Time), and allowed two strikeouts and three runs with six hits (one homer) in four innings.
Kershaw, who gave up two runs on three hits in the first inning, stopped the game without losing a point in the second to third innings, but allowed additional runs on a solo home run by Davis Wendzel in the fourth inning. However, he successfully completed his third rehabilitation game by increasing the number of pitches to 67. He pitched six pitches evenly, including maximum speed of 91.7 miles (147.6 kilometers), average speed of 89.7 miles (144.4 kilometers), four-seam fastballs (26), sliders (21), curves (12), splitter (4), changeup (3), and sinker (1).
Kershaw, who was rumored to retire after the end of last year’s season, underwent surgery in November to repair left shoulder scapula, tendon in the upper arm and joint sac, and declared his return this summer. He became an FA, but signed a “one plus one year contract” with the Dodgers instead of moving to another team. The contract includes player options in 2025, and the guaranteed annual salary is 5 million U.S. dollars. If Kershaw chooses next year’s option, it will be up to 10 million dollars.
Seven months after the surgery, Kershaw, who pitched 36 pitches in three innings in his first rehabilitation game for the single-A Rancho Cucamonga Wakes on April 20, moved to Triple-A and threw 38 pitches in three innings on April 14. After resting on May 5, he has been gradually building up with 67 pitches in four innings in the game on May 20.
As a starter, he is not yet capable of throwing 100 pitches. According to the Los Angeles Times, Kershaw’s pitching capability dropped in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s game, and his four-seam fastball was only 87 miles (140.0 kilometers) by the end of the inning. However, as starting pitchers have been sidelined due to injury one after another, the Dodgers, which has a hole in its rotation, seem to be ready to revive Kershaw early. “This is an important part. If it goes well, we will have serious discussions about whether he will join us next time,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Kershaw ahead of the game against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.
Dodgers main starters including Tyler Glasnow (back), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (shoulder) and Walker Buehler (hip) are all on the injured list. Glasnow can return next week, but it will take some time for Yamamoto, who is on the 60-day long-term injured list, and Buehler, who is on the rehabilitation list outside the team. Fireballer Bobby Miller, who is in his second year, is also downgraded to the minor league after a slump, and four starters are missing.
Gavin Stone and James Paxton were in the mound, but they rotated three rotation spots as temporary starters, leaving holes in the mound. As a result, the team finished the final 11 games with three wins and eight losses in the first half. If it were not for the All Star break, the team could have had a big crash.
Against this backdrop, the Dodgers are looking at Kershaw again. Even when they renewed their contracts last winter, it seemed that Kershaw would not have a place in the Dodgers’ starting lineup. They invested a lot of money to build a new one-two punch by recruiting Yamamoto and Glasnow, and also signed Paxton, a veteran who is often injured but has good pitching. With the growth of Buehler and prospect Miller and Stone, who returned from injury, the starting lineup seemed to be full. Kershaw, who underwent shoulder surgery, was in the background. 노래방알바
Baseball has not gone as expected, however. The Los Angeles Times reported that Kershaw’s return to the team seemed to be a bonus as recently as last winter when he re-signed with the Dodgers after postponing his retirement. As the Dodgers reorganized its starting lineup during the offseason, Kershaw seemed unnecessary to the team’s pitching staff plan, but things changed. The starting pitcher’s depth disappeared due to a string injury, and suddenly Kershaw became a big piece of the puzzle again.
Kershaw is also ready to return early for the sake of his team, but he is showing a bit of caution. “It’s good that I’ve increased my pitching capacity quite a bit. I think I’m in good shape,” Kershaw said after the game on Tuesday. “I’m not physically fit to throw up to 100 pitches. Of course, I want to come back whenever my team needs me, but I don’t want to put the team that has struggled for the past few weeks into trouble,” he said. “I don’t want to bother the already struggling team.”
But the team situation requires Kershaw. “Obviously right now we’re in a bit of a serious situation. We’ll have to hang in there a little bit longer,” Kershaw said. “We’ll have a conversation about when to come back. As I said, if the team needs me now, I’ll be ready.”
