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LOS ANGELES -- It's not often that a team gets to insert a Hall of Fame pitcher back into its rotation as an in-season reinforcement. That's just part of what makes the relationship between the Dodgers and southpaw Clayton Kershaw -- now going on its 18th year at the big league level -- so special. Kershaw is set to be activated from the 60-day injured list to make his season debut on Saturday evening against the Angels, having completed his rehab from offseason surgeries on his left toe and left knee. The 37-year-old left-hander will join Zack Wheat and Bill Russell as the only players in franchise history to play 18 seasons for the Dodgers. The three-time Cy Young Award winner and 2014 MVP is within shouting distance of a major career milestone: he's 32 strikeouts shy of 3,000. But Kershaw is taking things one step at a time. "I've thought about Saturday a lot. I've thought about getting back out there," Kershaw said. "I haven't really thought about [3,000 strikeouts] a whole lot. For me, just getting back out on the mound is a big first step, and then it's the rest of the season, obviously." When Kershaw re-signed with the Dodgers at the beginning of Spring Training, he spoke candidly about the difficult process of rehabbing his left toe. His 2024 season ended after just seven starts when he injured that toe in late August, eventually ruling him out for the postseason. |
Not long before Kershaw began a rehab assignment in mid-April, he said that his surgically repaired toe was still coming along, which affected the final push-off of his delivery. His arm was in good shape, though, so he felt ready to pitch in games at that point. After making five rehab starts with Dodgers Minor League affiliates, Kershaw feels that he's turned a corner physically. "Those last few rehab starts, I was more concerned about throwing well and getting guys out than I was [about] how my foot felt or anything like that," Kershaw said. "So I think that was a good sign for me physically, and then, yeah, now it's just a process of figuring out how to get guys out consistently again and perform. That's a much better place to be than seeing if you're hurt." In years past, he had taken that kind of thing for granted. No longer. Kershaw acknowledged that he's coming into this season with more appreciation for what it means to be a healthy, contributing member of a team every day. Kershaw's return comes at the right time for a Dodgers staff that has lost three members of its Opening Day rotation to the injured list: Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki. |
"I think when you haven't done something for a long time, and you realize that you miss it, you miss competing, you miss being a part of the team and contributing," Kershaw said, "there's a lot of gratitude and gratefulness to get back to that point. I definitely feel that. "Now, if I go out there and don't pitch good, it's going to go away real fast. So there's a performance aspect of it too." Kershaw's long, exclusive tenure with the Dodgers is a rarity in franchise history. In this era of baseball, it's practically unheard of. The way he sees it, it's only possible because both sides have been willing to commit to one another for the long run. "I've been super grateful for the Dodgers to keep giving me these opportunities to come out and pitch. That's just what I want to do. I want to go out there and pitch," Kershaw said. "I think the longevity part is just about honoring your commitment more than anything." |
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The Dodgers designated for assignment their longest-tenured position player, Austin Barnes, in order to call up top prospect Dalton Rushing on Wednesday. While Rushing has been knocking on the door of the Majors for some time, parting ways with Barnes was not a decision that came easily. "Austin is a guy that's far beyond the numbers. He's a glue guy. He's a guy that, there's a lot of banter. He held guys accountable. He was tough. I mean, he had a very innate ability to get big hits, and he was respected across the board. And so when you lose a presence like that, there's always kind of pause, I guess. But when we bring in a talent like Dalton, and the way he's performed, we feel good about the culture we have already in place. But how Austin's impacted our pitching staff, that's going to continue to go on." -- manager Dave Roberts "I think everybody was surprised. It's sad. Barnesy's one of my best friends on or off the field. You won't find a guy that competes better than Austin Barnes. He wants to win more than anybody, and he always found a way, and he came up with some big moments for us throughout the years. I think a lot of people forget he was starting a lot of playoff games and winning a lot of games for us, getting big knocks. It's sad to see someone like that go who's been here that long, and I think we all kind of feel it. It's no disrespect to Dalton. I know he deserves it, and he's going to be a great player. It's just for me, personally, I think for a lot of guys on the team, it was disappointing to see him go." -- Kershaw |
Earlier this week, the Dodgers welcomed seven Make-A-Wish kids to Dodger Stadium, where they got the full big league experience. That included signing one-day contracts with the team on Tuesday and being on the field for batting practice, and later throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to players. The kids got to spend some time around players, including Kershaw, who even shared the grip for his legendary curveball. |
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