Clayton Kershaw threw just 27 pitches in Friday’s start before soreness in his left big toe forced the longtime Dodgers starter out of the game. Kershaw was charged with three earned runs over one inning of work plus one batter faced in the second frame, as the left-handed left the mound after allowing a home run to Corbin Carroll.
Speaking with reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times) after the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained that Kershaw’s toe discomfort was caused by a bone spur that has been lingering for multiple seasons. “Some starts it feels fine and it’s not impeding. Today certainly it was,” Roberts said.
Given the longstanding nature of the injury, it isn’t necessarily clear whether or not Kershaw will need to be placed on the 15-day injured list. Kershaw and Roberts both stated that some testing and evaluation will need to happen before a decision is made, and the Dodgers have some extra time to monitor the situation since Kershaw wasn’t scheduled to pitch until next Friday. L.A. is expected to call up Justin Wrobleski for a spot start on Sunday, and the team has an off-day on Thursday, giving Kershaw more opportunity to rest.
That said, it obviously wouldn’t be surprising if the Dodgers opted to put Kershaw on the IL even as a precautionary measure. Kershaw’s lengthy injury history is well-documented, and he didn’t make his 2024 debut until July 25 due to a lengthy recovery from shoulder surgery last November. The southpaw has posted a 4.50 ERA and only an 18% strikeout rate over 30 innings, and while it isn’t a big sample size, Kershaw’s fastball velocity has dropped to 89.9 mph.
Losing Kershaw to the IL would represent yet another blow to the injury-ravaged Los Angeles rotation. The Dodgers have still posted an 81-54 record despite having to account for multiple injured arms for the entirety of the season. Roberts said the team is very likely to make some roster moves today to add fresh arms to a bullpen that had to cover eight innings on Friday, and some extra breathing space will come Sunday when teams expand their rosters from 26 to 28 players.
Adding just relief depth, however, might not provide much help to an L.A. team that still has plenty of questions about its starting staff as the postseason approaches. Considering the Dodgers’ five-game lead in the NL West, it would take quite a collapse for the club to actually miss the playoffs, yet it certainly seems possible that Los Angeles could have another strong regular season undone by a lack of healthy arms in October. In terms of reinforcements, Yoshinobu Yamamoto has started a Triple-A rehab assignment and could be back within a couple of weeks, though it isn’t yet clear when Tyler Glasnow could return from a bout of right elbow tendinitis.