LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw’s latest quest to find relief for his ailing left big toe included working out, at least briefly, with no shoe on his left foot. Pitching coaches Mark Prior and Connor McGuiness observed Kershaw simulating something resembling a light bullpen at Dodger Stadium on Monday while wearing a white sneaker on his right foot and just a blue sock on his left.
“Right now, I’m just trying everything to try and take the pressure off of it,” Kershaw said while discussing his toe injury with the media for the first time.
The longtime Los Angeles Dodgers ace left his start against the Arizona Diamondbacks 11 days ago after just one inning when the discomfort in that left toe became too much to bear. A painful bone spur has lingered for “years,” manager Dave Roberts said that night. It will take time to heal — time that Kershaw might not have as the calendar turns to October.
“I can’t really have any delays,” Kershaw said, while expressing optimism he can be back and make starts before the postseason.
So, Kershaw is doing whatever he can to keep his arm moving. The first couple of days, he was throwing with his knee on the ground, removing the pressure from his left foot. Monday, the pitcher had staffers attempt to shave off some of the stud on the tip of his left cleat. Kershaw has tried several different insoles, with more orthotics en route as he spoke on Monday afternoon. Skechers, Kershaw’s shoe provider, is working on a different style of shoe on an expedited timeline to accommodate their most notable client.
A familiar face back at Dodger Stadium (again) pic.twitter.com/34KzLB6eVi
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) September 10, 2024
In the meantime, Kershaw will continue throwing to keep that window of a potential return open. He’s missed enough time as it is, making his season debut in mid-July after undergoing the first major arm surgery of his career to repair the glenohumeral ligaments and capsule in his left shoulder. That shoulder doesn’t bother him anymore. Nor does his back. Kershaw carried a 2.63 ERA through his first five starts before the toe started to ache. He allowed five runs in his next start against the Tampa Bay Rays, including four in the first inning. He could only finish one inning in his next outing, in Arizona.
“It’s beyond frustrating,” Kershaw said. “Because my body feels great. Shoulder, back, everything feels really good. It’s just that last little bit. If you can’t push off, you can’t create what you need to create. So I have to find a way to be able to push off. So yeah, it’s super frustrating, especially where we’re at as a team. But I still have some hope that I’ll be able to be in the conversation. That’s the goal right now.”
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said this weekend he didn’t anticipate Kershaw requiring offseason surgery to address the issue. Kershaw was uncertain.
“I haven’t asked, maybe because I just don’t want to know,” Kershaw said.
(Photo of Clayton Kershaw from Aug. 31: Joe Camporeale / USA Today)
