Hall of Famer-To-Be Kershaw Set To Fill Dodgers’ Ailing Rotation

Hall of Famer-in-waiting Clayton Kershaw’s return could not come at a better time for the beleaguered the Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitching staff.

Kershaw is scheduled to make his 2025 debut against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, just in time to slide into a starting rotation that has been hit hard by its seemingly seasonal spate of injuries.

“I’m tired of taking up space,” Kershaw said told Los Angeles-based 570 AM’s David Vassegh. “It’s a great team, and 40 games in, you can see a lot of things that are going really well.

“I want to contribute and help the team out.”

If nothing else, the defending World Series-champion Dodgers can use the healthy arm and clubhouse presence that three-time NL Cy Young winner Kershaw could provide.

If Kershaw were to return to his 2022-23 form, when he was a combined 25-8 with a 2.37 ERA in 26 starts, so much the better. He has not pitched this season after undergoing offseason surgeries to repair torn meniscus in his left knee and ruptured plantar plate in his left big toe.

The Dodgers spent $657 million to solidify their starting rotation the last two years, but they have been unable to put a large portion of that money on field because of injuries that have dogged them since 2023.

That they have a National League-best 29-15 record entering the weekend series against the Angels is a credit to an offense led by the best opening 1-2-3 punch in the game — Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

Ohtani had two more homers on his bobblehead night Thursday, when the Dodgers beat the Athletics 19-2 in a bullpen game.

Injuries Disrupt Dodgers’ Rotation

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dustin May and Roki Sasaki are the only starters who have taken every turn this season, and that changed earlier this week when Sasaki was placed on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement, likely the cause of his early-season drop in velocity.

Prize 2025 free agent signee left-hander Blake Snell and 2024 acquisition right-hander Tyler Glasnow — slotted in behind No. 1 Yamamoto — are on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.

That dearth of arms does not include Ohtani, who signed a $700 million free agent deal as a pitcher/hitter before last season but did not pitch last year while recovering from elbow surgery. He threw a 34-pitch bullpen session in Arizona last week, but there is no timetable for his return to the mound.

It has made for another mix-and-match year for manager Dave Roberts, who has used nine starting pitchers, not including four relievers who have been used as openers. It was the kind of situation the Dodgers were hoping to avoid with their additions.

“I wouldn’t say I felt snake-bit,” said manager Dave Roberts, himself a likely Hall of Fame candidate. “It’s unfortunate, but you sort of plug and play and backfill as much as you can. Hopefully we get these guys back sooner (rather) than later.”

Dodgers’ starters have pitched 202 1/3 innings, second-fewest in the majors.

Snell, Glasnow Arrived with Health Concerns

Two-time Cy Young winner Snell has made two starts this season after receiving a five-year, $182 million free agent deal over the winter, opting out of a two-year deal with San Francisco signed the previous winter.

Glasnow, who was given a four-year, $136-million contract extension when he was acquired a trade with Atlanta before last season, has thrown 18 innings in five starts.

Snell postponed two bullpen sessions when the Dodgers were in Phoenix for a four-game series against the Diamondbacks last week and saw Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a check on Tuesday. He began a throwing program Thursday.

Down time is nothing new. Snell has made as many as 27 starts in only three of his 10 major league seasons. The most recent was in 2023, when he made a career-high 32 starts in his “walk year,” with free agency as an incentive.

Glasnow had a career-high 22 starts with the Dodgers last season, when the Dodgers used 12 starters, not counting openers.

Enter Clayton Kershaw.

Clayton Kershaw Packs a Resumé

Kershaw, who is 212-94 in 17 major league seasons, could provide a stabilizing presence if his health holds, although he has not made more than 24 starts in a season since 2019. He missed the firsts four months of 2024 after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery.

He was 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in seven starts after he returned, but he was shut down after making seven starts on Aug. 30 because of his toe injury. Glasnow and Yamamoto were on the injured list at the time.

Kershaw recently made five rehab starts, the last three at Triple-A Oklahoma City, to prepare for his return.

“He still was very efficient,” Roberts said. “With Clayton just being back, I think it just adds an element of certainty and kind of performance. So I’m not too concerned about anything outside of getting outs.”