LOS ANGELES — As the Los Angeles Dodgers head into the 2024 postseason in need of pitching depth, they won’t have their future Hall of Fame left-hander.
Manager Dave Roberts announced ahead of Game 1 of the National League Divisional Series that Clayton Kershaw will not pitch again this season.
“Clayton has done everything he can to keep this thing moving forward and giving himself a chance to participate in the postseason,” Roberts said. ‘But where he’s at right now, physically, the foot, the toe, just is not cooperating. It’s actually getting worse. Yeah, this is it for Clayton for 2024.’
Kershaw hasn’t pitched since Aug. 30 when he lasted only one inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks before he left the game due to a bone spur in his left big toe. The 36-year-old veteran had been throwing and trying to stay active so he could become available for the postseason, but ultimately he won’t toe the mound for the No. 1 seed in the National League.
‘Really it’s not getting better, so I can’t pitch,’ Kershaw told reporters. ‘I had to keep my arm going to have a chance, and by doing that, I probably made this worse.’
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He said surgery is ‘definitely in the conversation’ but hasn’t solidified any plans. He said he also won’t consider his future until after the season ends.
‘Right now my focus should be trying to beat the Padres. I’m gonna try and be a good cheerleader as best I can,’ Kershaw said.
It was an injury-riddled season for the three-time Cy Young winner who signed a one-year contract prior to the season with the team he’s spent his entire big league career with. He underwent surgery to repair a torn capsule in his left shoulder in November and didn’t make his first appearance of the season until July 25. This season, he pitched 30 innings in seven starts with a 2-2 record and a 4.50 ERA, the highest of his 17-year career.
For the Dodgers, it’s just the latest arm to be sidelined heading into the divisional series. Ace Tyler Glasnow hasn’t pitched since August with an elbow injury and will likely not pitch this postseason. Veteran reliever Joe Kelly was also left the NLDS roster with a shoulder injury.
Jack Flaherty will pitch Game 2 on Sunday after Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s start in the opener, but the Dodgers have not announced any other pitching plans for the remainder of the series.
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