Clayton Kershaw injury update: Dodgers pitcher could make season debut after just one more rehab start

At 24-12, the Los Angeles Dodgers have the best record in baseball, and they could soon welcome a future Hall of Famer to their rotation. Lefty Clayton Kershaw will make another Triple-A rehab start on Sunday, manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday (per The Athletic). It’s possible it will be his last rehab start, though Roberts did not confirm that specifically.

“From what I hear, he’s throwing the baseball well,” Roberts said Tuesday about Kershaw’s rehab starts (via the Orange Country Register). “It’s certainly not major-league competition, but I know Clayton is doing everything he can to, once he gets here, be the best pitcher he can be to help us win baseball games. He’s not just checking boxes, going through the motions.”

Kershaw had knee and toe surgeries soon after the Dodgers won the World Series last fall. He has made four rehab starts, including throwing six no-hit innings in the Arizona Complex League on Tuesday. Kershaw has built his pitch count up to about 90, Roberts said, which is close to a full workload. As long as Kershaw feels good, Sunday’s Triple-A start could be a final tune-up.

Kershaw is eligible to be activated off the 60-day injured list on May 18, which is exactly one week following Sunday’s Triple-A rehab start. It lines up well, and the Dodgers could use another starter right now. They have seven starters on the injured list and have been using bullpen games regularly just to build extra rest into the schedule for their healthy starters.

Here is the team’s rotation depth chart at the moment. It is lengthy and also loaded with injuries:

1. RHP Shohei Ohtani (rehabbing from elbow surgery)
2. RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto
3. LHP Blake Snell (out with shoulder inflammation)
4. RHP Tyler Glasnow (out with shoulder inflammation)
5. LHP Clayton Kershaw (rehabbing from knee and toe surgeries)
6. RHP Roki Sasaki
7. RHP Dustin May
8. RHP Tony Gonsolin
9. RHP Gavin Stone (will miss 2025 with shoulder surgery)
10. RHP Landon Knack
11. RHP Bobby Miller
12. LHP Justin Wrobleski
13. RHP River Ryan (will miss 2025 with Tommy John surgery)
14. RHP Emmet Sheehan (will miss most of 2025 with Tommy John surgery)
15. RHP Kyle Hurt (will miss most of 2025 with Tommy John surgery)

Glasnow and Snell will begin playing catch this Friday, Roberts said (per The Athletic). That is merely Step 1 in a rehab process that will take weeks. They’ll play catch, then throw in the bullpen, then face hitters in live batting practice, then make a few rehab starts. If either returns in June, it would be a good outcome for the Dodgers.

Despite a payroll that is pushing $400 million, the Dodgers have used 11 different starting pitchers in 36 games. No team has used more. That is at least in part by design. The Dodgers use the regular season almost as a dress rehearsal. Their priority is being in the best position heading into October, so all their pitching decisions are made with the big picture in mind. To that point, they’re still favorites to win the World Series (+240, per Caesars), even with all the injuries.

Now 37, Kershaw made only seven starts around shoulder trouble last season. The three-time Cy Young winner is sitting on 2,968 career strikeouts, putting him on the verge of becoming the 20th pitcher in the 3,000 strikeout club, and only the fourth lefty along with Hall of Famers Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton, and CC Sabathia.

If the Dodgers do indeed activate Kershaw on May 18, the first day he is eligible to return, he will make his 2025 debut at Dodger Stadium against the Los Angeles Angels.