The Los Angeles Dodgers will begin their 2024 MLB postseason without Clayton Kershaw. And end it too.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed to reporters Saturday, hours before the team played the San Diego Padres in the NLDS, that Kershaw had been ruled out for the entire 2024 postseason. Young has I have been on IL since August with a bone spur in my toe..
From the Associated Press:
“Clayton did everything he could to get things going and give himself a chance to make the playoffs,” Roberts said. “But where he is right now, physically, the foot, the toe just isn’t cooperating. In fact, the situation is getting worse.
Kershaw re-signed with the Dodgers last offseason a one-year contract loaded with incentives. The contract was signed knowing that the 36-year-old would not be ready until the middle of the season after undergoes shoulder surgery after 2023 season.
He ended up debuting on July 25and made a total of seven starts before running into the toe problem. Because he has made seven starts, Kershaw will receive his $5 million base salary for 2024, $2.5 million in incentives and a $5 million player option for next season. He won’t receive any of his postseason bonuses, which were considerable.
The injury once again raises the question of whether Kershaw played his final game in a Dodger uniform. Part of the reason he came back was the brutal way his season ended last year, allowing six earned runs and scoring just one against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS 2024, but this season hasn’t been much better.
Kershaw posted a negative bWAR and a 4.50 ERA while averaging 4.3 innings per start. It’s now been five years since Kershaw qualified for the ERA title, and nine years since he broke 200 innings. Retirement could be as much of a possibility for him as moving to another team.
Roberts also said Saturday that veteran reliever Joe Kelly was left off the Dodgers’ NLDS roster after twisting his shoulder in a simulated game, leaving the team without yet another pitcher against their NLDS rivals. In addition to Kershaw and Kelly, Los Angeles is missing Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Stone, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Brusdar Graterol and more.
As for the Padres, the team will be without All-Star starter Joe Musgrove, who is about to undergo Tommy John surgery.
