LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw, who has spent the past five weeks rehabbing an ailing toe, will not pitch this postseason no matter how far the Los Angeles Dodgers advance. But the Dodgers got some immediate good news a little more than two hours before Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday, when Freddie Freeman was inserted into the starting lineup.
Freeman’s status was in serious question when the Dodgers began their pregame work Saturday, but he came onto the field at roughly 2:45 p.m. PT for some light baserunning and defensive work and felt good enough coming out of it. He then went inside to hit off one of the Dodgers’ high-velocity pitching machines, after which the team inserted him at first base and in his customary No. 3 spot of the lineup.
Freeman sprained his right ankle while avoiding a tag near first base Sept. 26 and spent the past eight days rehabbing the injury. He expressed confidence he’d start Game 1 while meeting with the media Thursday, saying his right ankle was “good enough.” But his status changed the following day, with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts saying earlier Saturday afternoon that he was “not as hopeful as I was yesterday.”
Before Freeman declared himself ready, the Dodgers were working out Max Muncy at first base and Enrique Hernandez at third base — their preferred alignment if Freeman is unavailable at any point this series.
Freeman’s status will continually be in question throughout the NLDS, but Kershaw’s is definitive.
“We’re closing the door,” Roberts said. “Clayton has done everything he can to keep this thing moving forward and giving himself a chance to participate in the postseason. But where he’s at right now, physically, the foot, the toe just is not cooperating.”
Kershaw underwent shoulder surgery last offseason and didn’t make his season debut until July 25, then exited his Aug. 30 start in the second inning with what was subsequently diagnosed as a bone spur in his left big toe. Kershaw continued to keep his pitching arm active and had his spikes readjusted to help compensate for the pain in his tender toe. But his throwing progression was put on hold last week because compensating for it was triggering pain in other parts of his body as he went through his delivery.
“It was getting pretty mentally exhausting to continue to try to pitch,” Kershaw said. “It just kept hurting, so I got another MRI. I made it worse, so there’s no point at this point to keep going. It’s unfortunate. Obviously, super frustrated. That’s really it. It’s not getting better, so I can’t pitch.”
The Dodgers went with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler and Landon Knack as their starters for their NLDS showdown against the rival San Diego Padres, with Yamamoto and Flaherty starting Games 1 and 2, respectively. The only mildly surprising roster decision was going with rookie right-hander Edgardo Henriquez, who has made only three appearances but throws his fastball in the triple digits, over veteran Joe Kelly.
Roberts revealed Kelly suffered a shoulder injury while throwing a changeup on the last pitch of a simulated game earlier this week. Kelly’s shoulder injury is similar to the one suffered by Brusdar Graterol, an ailment that opened a spot for another young right-hander in Michael Grove. The Dodgers’ only chance of having Kelly available will be if they advance to the World Series; Roberts said he would not be available for the NL Championship Series either.
When the Dodgers’ season ends, Kershaw, who might need surgery on his left big toe, will once again contemplate whether he’ll retire or pitch the following season. His contract includes a $5 million player option that comes with up to $20 million in additional performance incentives.
“My shoulder feels great, back feels great, all that stuff,” Kershaw, 36, said. “I don’t know. Obviously, I don’t want to keep getting hurt all the time. It’s not fun to do that. But I also really love to pitch too. Just got to weigh everything and talk about it, figure it out.”
