The news on Clayton Kershaw did not seem good on Thursday, with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts saying he did not think the veteran left-hander, sidelined all month by a left big toe injury, would “be viable for a couple of weeks.”
But the three-time National League Cy Young Award winner is not ready to give up on his hopes of pitching in the playoffs if the Dodgers can make a deep October run.
“I’m going to keep trying every day,” Kershaw, 36, said before Thursday night’s series finale against the San Diego Padres in Dodger Stadium. “Maybe it’ll feel better one day. I’m just waiting for that day to happen.”
Asked again on Thursday what is ailing Kershaw, Roberts repeated his response from Tuesday, when he said, “It’s the toe … it’s the body,” Kershaw said the toe remains the primary issue — ”That’s the truth,” he said — but acknowledged that compensating for the pain in his push-off foot is putting the rest of his body at risk.
“There’s only like a percentage I can throw without other stuff starting to bother me because I’m throwing differently,” Kershaw said. “Whenever my toe feels better, I’m confident that I’ll be good. But yeah, other stuff pops up when I’m not throwing normally. It’s not a big deal. It’s just there’s a max percentage that I can throw right now.”
Kershaw, who missed the first four months of the season while recovering from November’s shoulder surgery, has completed several bullpen workouts in the past two weeks — one in which he threw about 80 pitches — but he has not advanced to a point where he is ready to face hitters.
“I feel like it’s progressing, it’s just obviously not as far as I hoped or wanted,” Kershaw said. “There are slight improvements like waking up in the morning, the [ability to put] pressure on it, maybe. But it’s just not there yet.”
Roberts said Kershaw, who went 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in seven starts after being activated in late July, will have to complete several bullpen workouts and face hitters before being considered for the team’s injury-ravaged playoff rotation.
“My arm, I’m keeping good as best I can,” Kershaw said. “I really think when my toe is better, I’ll be ready to pitch. I just need to get as close to 100% so I can throw normally.”
