Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw feeling ‘gratitude’ to get back on mound Saturday

LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw is tired of “taking up space.”

The veteran left-hander will be activated from the Injured List Saturday and make his 18th season debut with the Dodgers, having recovered from his latest medical challenges – surgery on his left knee and foot in November.

“I’m excited to get going again and compete, and I just want to be a contributing part of this team,” Kershaw said. “So I’m excited to do that. It’s been a long time.

“I don’t take it for granted anymore to get to go out there and pitch at Dodger Stadium, and Saturday will be – well, it’ll be fun if we win. But regardless, it’ll be exciting to get back out there.”

When the team visited the White House last month, Kershaw referred to himself as “a spectator” for the 2024 championship run. He made just seven regular-season starts, fighting to pitch with a chronic painful condition in his foot

Kershaw said he knew he was ready to return this season when he stopped thinking about how his foot felt while he was on the mound.

“I think, for me, when you stop worrying about feeling bad, and you start worrying about performance, I think that’s kind of when you know that you’ve turned the corner,” he said. “So those last few rehab starts, I was more concerned about throwing well and getting guys out than I was how my foot felt or anything like that. I think that was a good sign for me physically, and now it’s just a process of figuring out how to get guys out consistently again and perform.

“That’s a much better place to be than seeing if you’re hurt.”

Kershaw returns with 2,968 career strikeouts. Thirty-two more would make him only the 20th pitcher in major-league history to reach 3,000. His focus has been on getting back, not on any milestones, he said.

“I’ve thought about Saturday a lot. I’ve thought about getting back out there,” Kershaw said. “I haven’t really thought about that (3,000 strikeouts) a whole lot. For me, just getting back out on the mound is a big first step, and then it’s the rest of the season, obviously. But just making it through Saturday and getting back out there is what I’ve thought about so far.”

By getting back out there for an 18th season with the Dodgers, the 37-year-old Kershaw will join Zack Wheat and Bill Russell as the only players in franchise history to play that many seasons with the team. He feels “more gratitude, honestly” as he heads into this season debut.

“I think when you haven’t done something for a long time, and you realize that you miss it, you miss competing, you miss being a part of the team and contributing, I think there’s a lot of gratitude and gratefulness to get back to that point,” he said. “I definitely feel that. Now, if I go out there and don’t pitch good, it’s gonna go away real fast. So there’s a performance aspect of it too. But I think for now, sitting on the other side of it, just super excited and grateful to get to go back out there again.”

He joins a Dodgers rotation that has been depleted by injury for the third consecutive season. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Kershaw will add more than just a healthy arm to that rotation.

“I’m envisioning a shot in the arm of emotion, of intensity,” Roberts said. “I do believe in a player like Clayton, his track record, raising the level of performance, intensity to a ballclub, and that’s what I’m expecting tomorrow and going forward.”

COMING SOON

According to Roberts, Tommy Edman could be activated from the Injured List as soon as Sunday. Edman has been out since April 30 with an injured tendon in his right ankle but has been taking live batting practice this week and went through running and sliding drills Friday.

Teoscar Hernandez, meanwhile, is expected to start a brief rehab assignment with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday. Hernandez is not expected to play more than two games with the Quakes and could be activated as soon as Monday. He has been out since injuring an adductor muscle in his left leg on May 5.

PHILLIPS UPDATE

Right-hander Evan Phillips received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right elbow-flexor area earlier this week. Phillips said he has felt some improvement but is not quite pain-free yet and won’t start a throwing program until he is. That could come next week, Phillips said.

Phillips started his season late after suffering a torn ligament in his shoulder during last fall’s postseason run. He made seven scoreless appearances for the Dodgers but felt discomfort in his elbow area during the road trip to Miami and was placed on the Injured List with forearm discomfort.

ROSTER MOVE

The Dodgers promoted right-hander Ryan Loutos from Triple-A and optioned left-hander Justin Wrobleski back to Oklahoma City. Lotus was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for cash considerations earlier this month. He made three appearances at OKC, pitching 3⅓ scoreless innings.

UP NEXT

Angels (LHP Tyler Anderson, 2-1, 2.58 ERA) at Dodgers (LHP Clayton Kershaw, 2025 MLB debut), Saturday 6:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM