Dodgers send veteran pitcher Clayton Kershaw to IL due to shoulder injury ahead of All-Star break
Kershaw will miss more than two weeks due to left shoulder soreness
The Los Angeles Dodgers placed left-handed starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw on the 15-day injured list Monday due to a lingering shoulder injury.
The move to the IL is retroactive to Friday. Kershaw was recently named to his 10th All-Star game, which he will now miss.
The Dodgers recalled RHPs Michael Grove and Gavin Stone, optioned LHP Victor González and placed LHP Clayton Kershaw on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder soreness, backdated to June 30.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 3, 2023
Kershaw reported soreness in his left shoulder after his previous start against the Colorado Rockies on June 27, when he carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before leading the Dodgers to a 5-0 win. He threw just 79 pitches but left in the sixth inning with some discomfort.
Kershaw has had multiple throwing sessions since then, and the Dodgers were contemplating starting him Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Instead, the team opted to rest Kershaw and send him to the IL.
Michael Grove will start Monday in Kershaw’s place.
The injury, according to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, isn’t believed to be serious. With Kershaw going on IL now, ahead of the All-Star break next week, he could miss as few as two starts.
Kershaw, 35, holds a 2.55 ERA and 10 wins over 16 starts and 95 1/3 innings so far this season, all of which are the best in the Dodgers' rotation. He has made at least one trip to the IL in each of his past eight seasons and missed part of the 2019 season due to shoulder inflammation.
The Dodgers enter Monday’s game with the Pirates, the first of a four-game homestand, with a 46-37 record. They trail the Arizona Diamondbacks by three games in the NL West with six games left before the All-Star break.
