Clayton Kershaw, “grateful” for his return to launch
Clayton Kershaw launches again for Dodgers, this Saturday, after nine months away from the mound
Los Angeles – The Decimoctava Clayton Kershaw season will officially begin on Saturday when he stands at Dodger Stadium to launch in his first important game in almost nine months.
Kershaw spent the first half of last season recovering from shoulder surgery. He returned at the end of July and then made seven openings before the pain in one of his fingers of the foot became unbearable. When the Los Angeles Dodgers opted for recurring Games from Bullpen to win a next autumn championship, Kershaw just observed.
Today, joining a rotation means a little more than before for the veteran.
“I think there is more gratitude, honestly,” said Kershaw, 37. When you have not done something for a long time and realize that you miss being part of a team and contribute, I think there is a lot of gratitude to return to that point. I definitely sorry. Now, if I go out and do not throw well, it will happen to me very quickly. There is a performance factor in that. But I think, for now, after having overcome it, I am super excited and grateful to play again.
Kershaw underwent surgery to repair a broken meniscus in the left knee and a plain plaque broken on the big toe of the left foot in November, and then signed his fourth consecutive one -year contract with the Dodgers at the beginning of spring training in mid -February. At that time, the Dodgers came from another low season that monopolized headlines, after having incorporated Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki to their rotation. Kershaw’s return was considered a luxury. Now, it is a necessity.
Snell, Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow are on the list of injured by shoulder ailments, which leaves the Dodgers with a body of pitchers of just four players, which has once again forced them to routinely deploy several relieved instead of a traditional opener. As a result, the relief of the Dodgers have accumulated 181.2 entries, the greatest amount in the major leagues.
However, if the results in the minor leagues serve as indication, Kershaw could be a great impulse. In five openings with three Dodgers subsidiaries, Kershaw registered an effectiveness of 2.57 with 16 strikeouts and five balls per ball in 21 inputs.
“When you stop worrying about feeling bad and starting to worry about performance, I think it’s when you know you’ve overcome the stage,” Kershaw said. “In those last rehabilitation openings, I was more worried about throwing well and taking out outs than feeling good about the foot or something like that. I think that was a good sign for me physically.”
Saturday’s departure, against neighbors Angeles Angels, will be different from Kershaw for a particular reason:
Austin Barnes, one of his oldest and most close friends, will not be present.
The Dodgers practically replaced Barnes with the star prospect Dalton Rushing, on Tuesday, ending an 11 -year streak in which Barnes was mainly a substitute receiver, but contributed both inside and outside the field. Kershaw threw Barnes in 86 of his openings, only behind Aj Ellis, his close friend and trust receiver during the first half of his career. Kershaw launched Barnes in 45 games between 2021 and 2024, including the playoffs, eight more than the main receiver of the Dodgers, Will Smith. Its effectiveness with Barnes in that period (2.68) was almost a better race than with Smith (3.65).
“I think everyone was surprised,” Kershaw said about Barnes’s allocation by the Dodgers. You will not find anyone who competes better than Austin Barnes. He wants to win more than anyone and always found a way. He gave us key moments over the years. I think people forget that they were a starter in many playoff games, which won many games for us and received strong blows.
It is sad to see someone like that, which has been in the team for so long. I think we all feel it. It is not a disrespect for Dalton; I know he deserves it. He will be a great player. It’s just that, for me, personally, and I think that for many of the team, it is disappointing to see it leave.
Kershaw is no longer the player who accumulated more than 200 entries and was one of the dominant baseball forces, but has proven to be very effective despite losing speed on his straight and suffering a litany of injuries. Among the pitchers who compiled at least 400 tickets between 2020 and 2023, Kershaw’s effectiveness was the second lowest in the big leagues, slightly behind that of Max Fried’s 2.66.
Last season (4.50 of effectiveness and a puff rate of 18 percent, the lowest of his career) was a problem. But he left Kershaw only 32 strikeouts of the 3,000, a brand that only 19 have reached. When he was asked if he has thought about getting there, Kershaw smiled and said: “I thought about Saturday, a lot.
“I have thought a lot about playing again,” he said. “I have not really thought much (in the 3,000 strikeouts). For me, the mere fact of returning to the mound is a great step. Then comes the rest of the season.”
