Clayton Kershaw Completes Four Innings in Final Rehab Start, Expected to Make 2025 Debut in Next Outing
After making five rehab starts, the next time Clayton Kershaw toes the rubber should be in a major league game for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 37-year-old hurler made his third – and hopefully final – rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday, allowing a pair of runs on two hits – including a two-run shot in his final inning of work – and two walks while striking out two across four innings. He also hit a batter in the opening frame but neutralized the damage by inducing an inning-ending double play.
Kershaw, whose velocity continues to be down across the board on all four of his offerings, threw 57 pitches and landed nearly two-thirds for strikes. His slider was easily his most effective weapon, producing five whiffs on 16 swings (31 percent) and one of his two punchouts.
The future Hall of Famer – first eligible to be activated off the 60-day IL on Sunday at home against the Angels – had pitched deeper in each of his previous two rehab outings, logging six shutout innings on May 6 in the Arizona Complex League and five on April 30 with Oklahoma City.
The 10-time All-Star and three-time NL Cy Young winner began a Triple-A rehab assignment on Apr. 16, tossing three scoreless innings of two-hit ball while striking out a pair. He spent all of spring training recovering from off-season surgeries to his left knee and toe.
Last season, Kershaw compiled only 30 innings over seven starts, both the fewest of his 17 major league campaigns. He didn’t make his season debut until late July as he recovered from off-season shoulder surgery, and his return was cut short before September because of a bone spur in his left toe.
That meant the former NL MVP winner was unavailable during the Dodgers’ run to the World Series, where they defeated the New York Yankees in five games to secure the franchise’s eighth championship title.
While Kershaw could’ve decided to retire after becoming a free agent for a fourth consecutive off-season last winter, the veteran southpaw ultimately chose to return for his 18th season, inking a one-year deal worth $7.5 million.
“I hope this is the last time I have to rehab. I’m kind of done with that,” Kershaw told reporters during spring training, including MLB.com’s Sonja Chen. “But at the same time, I don’t want that to be the reason that I stop playing. … Hopefully I can walk out on my own terms, whenever that is, but it just didn’t feel like it was the right time.”
Now that Kershaw has completed his spring training-esque build-up, he’ll aim to recapture the effectiveness from his last full season in 2023, where he pitched to an impressive 2.46 ERA with 137 strikeouts over 131.2 innings in 24 starts – the most he had logged since ‘19.
Despite opening this season with six healthy starters, the Dodgers’ rotation is running a tad thin at this point of the season, with Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow both on the mend due to shoulder inflammation. Neither hurler appears close to returning anytime soon, and each will be re-evaluated by team doctors this week.
Thus, with Kershaw’s return date on the horizon, Los Angeles will have the option to either switch to a six-man rotation – providing extra rest for everyone, namely rookie Roki Sasaki – or option Landon Knack to create room for the longtime franchise icon.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Ron Reiring. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.