Clayton Kershaw is slowly working his way back to the Majors after undergoing shoulder surgery in the offseason, and while the Dodgers know they need Kershaw in their rotation, they're not going to rush him back.
Manager Dave Roberts on Saturday told reporters during a press conference that Kershaw experienced some soreness in his throwing shoulder after his rehab start last week at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.
Roberts made it clear the Dodgers want Kershaw back as soon as possible, but he also made it clear they're not going to jeopardize his health in the process.
"I don't anyone cares more or prepares better," Roberts said. "We're just not a complete ball club without him. I'm just very happy with him and hope that -- we just gotta be smart, making sure that he's right when he gets back. That's the most important thing."
Kershaw was slated to make a rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City this week, but that could now get pushed back depending on how his shoulder soreness progresses.
"Yeah, there's a possibility," Roberts said. "I think that given the calendar we just want to make sure that he's good to go. There's no hard date for him, and we've been very clear from the get go, so when he's ready to go and when he's ready to continue to progress, that's when it is. I just don't want to give him any hard timelines."
It's unclear what the nature of the soreness is, but it would make sense that a 36-year-old pitcher coming off shoulder surgery would have some soreness in his arm after his first rehab outing.
Roberts said the team will continue pushing his next start back as far as Kershaw needs, but it also sounds like there's a chance it may not get moved at all.
The key is that Kershaw is fully healthy once he does return. Having him back in the rotation would be a nice boost for the Dodgers with both Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler dealing with injuries. Los Angeles just wants to ensure that when Kershaw is back in the Majors, he's doing so at full strength.
