Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw to Pitch Thursday at Dodger Stadium

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw will take the next step in his injury rehab process on a major league mound.

There’s a catch.

Rather than going out on a minor league rehab assignment, Kershaw will throw a simulated game on the same mound he’s stepped on for 215 regular-season starts in a future Hall of Fame career. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed the plan to reporters prior to Tuesday’s game against the Texas Rangers at Dodger Stadium:

Kershaw’s last time throwing off a mound was a simulated game last Friday with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, the Dodgers’ affiliate in the Single-A California League. Although it makes sense that Kershaw might go out on a minor league rehab assignment at some point, the Dodgers will keep their eyes on Kershaw in their home park instead, where Kershaw can get his work in against live hitters without the encumbrance of travel.

The Dodgers re-signed Kershaw on Feb. 9 to a one-year contract with a player option for 2025 that will pay a base salary of $5 million each year.

Kershaw, a former MVP and three-time Cy Young award winner, is already ahead of schedule in his recovery from surgery on the glenohumeral ligaments in his left shoulder.

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

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