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Clayton kershaw left his most recent regular season start with recurring forearm discomfort. The Dodgers star has not suffered any damage at UCL and will not require surgery, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times). Nonetheless, three-time award winner Cy Young is unlikely to return to the playoffs.
The news comes in as a sort of mixed bag. On the one hand, it certainly seemed worrying when Kershaw left his last start to the year with forearm discomfort, shortly after returning from an absence of more than two months due to the same issue. It’s certainly a relief that despite this recurring problem, Kershaw won’t need to go under the knife.
That said, he will no doubt be disappointed that he cannot return to help the Dodgers’ efforts to repeat themselves as World Series winners. It’s possible Kershaw wouldn’t have pitched in the playoffs even if he was in good health. Max Scherzer was likely to get the ball in tomorrow night’s Wild Card game anyway, and the Dodgers’ title defense could end with that contest alone. But a longer playoff streak surely would have seen a healthy Kershaw register some important innings, and that won’t be the case anymore.
It’s also a particularly unhappy time for Kershaw personally. The 33-year-old is expected to hit the open market this winter. In good health, Kershaw was once again excellent. In 121 2/3 innings, the former MVP worked out a 3.55 ERA while striking out 29.5% of batters faced and hitting just 4.3%. Kershaw’s velocity has steadily declined over the past few seasons, but he has nonetheless been among the most effective pitchers in the game year after year. He tended to be one of the best starters available in free agency this offseason, but his recent health issues will throw a wrench into this assessment for the teams.
The Dodgers also provided an update on Max Muncy, who injured his elbow in a collision on first base in Sunday’s regular season finale. Muncy told reporters (including Juan Toribio from MLB.com), he suffered elbow dislocation and structural damage. Fortunately, he won’t need surgical repair. Roberts didn’t rule out the possibility of Muncy returning at some point in the playoffs (Toribio link).
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