Dodgers Team News

Dodgers News: Clayton Kershaw Expected to be Out Until September

The Dodgers have done everything that they can in 2021 to help with the starting pitching issue. Between injuries and Trevor Bauer’s legal battle, they’ve had to do what they can to survive with what was supposed to be a deep pitching staff. 

To help with the holes left in the rotation, the Dodgers went out and got Max Scherzer off of the trade market. And as much as that had to do with missing Trevor Bauer and Dustin May for the rest of the year, there might have been more to it. 



Clayton Kershaw has been out since before the All-Star break with a forearm strain. Up until now, the Dodgers have contended that he was close to being ready. Things seemed to have changed drastically this week with Dave Roberts’ latest announcement

Having Kershaw miss most of July and all of August is certainly not what the Dodgers were hoping for. The veteran southpaw was also having an okay season posting a 3.39 ERA and an expected ERA of 3.12 in 18 starts. He was also striking out guys at a higher clip than in the past 3 seasons and posted a very nice 2.99 FIP. 

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So in the meantime, the Dodgers will run with the guys that they have. Scherzer, Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, and David Price are currently set to hold things down with Tony Gonsolin also out. But at some point, the bullpen games are going to start coming back.  

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6 Comments

  1. We all could see this coming, even shortly after the All Star Break. The inflammation in Kershaw’s forearm is lingering and the Dodgers can only hope that time and rest will take care of it. However, there is no guarantee he’ll be ready to go sometime in Sept. or for any postseason run. The Dodgers are probably going to have to win at a .610+ clip the next 2 months to catch the Giants and that’s going to be very difficult with the SPing issues and the BP issues. The offense is going to have to be so much better.
    I’ve watched maybe 15 games that the Giants have played this season (most of the games against the Dodgers), and they way they win games is ridiculous. Saw the 9th inning rally against the D’Backs yesterday when S.F. was down 4-0 and they came back to win. 2 times this season, I’ve seen the Giants “lose” a game but have the final play of the game overturned upon review and the game continues and they end up winning it. Even win they lose they win. Geez.

  2. Forearm strain that lingers this long is typically an indication of looming Tommy John surgery. It’s very possible that the Dodgers know it already but want to keep it quiet…to keep hope up on the team. But nobody is scared of Kershaw coming back for the playoffs, since his playoff record is mediocre at best. Looking further down the road, do they invest significant dollars to resign a pitcher with this mileage, who has missed this many starts the last 5 years? If Friedman is smart, if they do re-sign him, it will be a low base salary, with a million dollar bonus for each start. If Kershaw signs elsewhere, or retired, the money saved can be used to re-sign Schurzer, who has the durability of Nolan Ryan, with a better arsenal of pitches, and is still overpowering hitters, something that Kershaw can no longer do.

  3. “Up until now, the Dodgers have contended that he was close to being ready. ”

    No one wants to acknowledge pitching shortages while negotiatiing for another pitcher.

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