Clayton Kershaw injury update: Dodgers ace placed on DL
Despite progress on Friday, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will be heading to the disabled list, retroactive to March 23. The earliest he’d be eligible to return would be April 8, but Dodgers manager Don Mattingly remains non-committal.
Mark Kolbe
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly was right to be cautious and not cautiously optimistic about his No.1 starter's back issues despite positive progression on Friday. It looks like the team's ace Clayton Kershaw will be placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 23.
After feeling fine following a throwing session Friday, he “felt something while throwing today, at increased distance and intensity” according to SBNation’s Eric Stephen. The trip to the DL will put him on the shelf until at least April 8, but in keeping with his PR strategy so far, Mattingly is unwilling to commit to any kind of timetable for the two-time Cy Young winner’s return.
While there are contingencies for the team, with Zack Greinke back on Tuesday and Opening Night starter Hyun-Jin Ryu likely taking Kershaw's next projected start against the Padres on Friday, any time without perhaps the best pitcher is baseball is less than ideal.
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The injury significantly reduces the Dodgers' margin for error as they start the season stateside with nearly every prominent member of their pitching staff nursing some kind of ailment. Ryu is recovering from a torn toenail, Greinke spent much of spring training trying to shake off a calf injury that kept him from traveling with the team to Australia and Josh Beckett's thumb injury has forced Mattingly to play some musical chairs as he tries not to rush the former World Series MVP back.
Ryu will look to hold the fort until the rest of the staff can return, and if for some reason Beckett is not ready to return by next Saturday, Paul Maholm will take his place as the team plays their first few games at Dodger Stadium.
Beyond the obviousness of injuries being bad news, this epidemic is especially troubling considering the amount of money they have invested in their pitching staff. Between the $215 million owed to Kershaw and the $128 million to Greinke, along with the $15.75 million left on the final year of Beckett’s deal, the team has more invested in their pitching staff than some teams have in their entire roster.
Which is why, despite a recent $8.5 billion dollar TV contract the team just signed, it’s a considerable chunk of change for a team to spend on players that aren’t on the field.
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