The Los Angeles Dodgers begin their 2024 MLB playoff run without Clayton Kershaw. And put an end to it too.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed to reporters on Saturday, hours before the team is set to face the San Diego Padres in the NLDS, that Kershaw has been ruled out for the entire 2024 postseason. The three-time Cy Young winner has been on the IL since August with a bone spur in his toe.
From the Associated Press:
“Clayton has done everything he can to move this thing forward and give himself an opportunity to participate in the postseason,” Roberts said. “But where he is now, physically, the foot and the toe just aren’t cooperating. It’s actually getting worse.”
Kershaw re-signed with the Dodgers last offseason on a one-year, incentive-laden contract. The contract was signed knowing the 36-year-old wouldn’t be ready until midseason after undergoing shoulder surgery following the 2023 season.
He finally made his debut on July 25 and made a total of seven starts before running into the toe problem. Because he made seven starts, Kershaw will receive his $5 million base salary for 2024, $2.5 million in bonuses and a $5 million player option for next season. He won’t receive any of his postseason bonuses, which were significant.
The injury once again raises the question of whether Kershaw has played his last 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 just one putout against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2024 NLDS, but this season wasn’t much better.
Kershaw posted a negative bWAR and an ERA of 4.50 while averaging 4.3 innings per start. It’s been five years since Kershaw qualified for the ERA title, and nine years since he broke 200 innings. Retirement could be as much an option for him as leaving for another team.
Roberts also said Saturday that veteran reliever Joe Kelly was left off the Dodgers’ NLDS roster after tweaking his shoulder in a simulated game, leaving the team without another pitcher as it faced 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.
On the Padres side, the team will be without All-Star starter Joe Musgrove, who is set to undergo Tommy John surgery.
