There hasn’t been a pitcher in baseball this season more valuable to his team than Clayton Kershaw is to the Los Angeles Dodgers. And we may see soon just how much better he’s made the mostly unspectacular Dodgers this season.
The club announced Tuesday that Kershaw would be leaving its current road trip in Milwaukee and traveling back to the Los Angeles to see the team’s back specialist.
This, as you might imagine for a Dodgers team that’s trying to make the best of a depleted rotation, is not good news. Here’s what skipper Dave Roberts relayed to the press, via Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times:
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Dave Roberts said the team is "hopeful" Kershaw can make his next start. But his back condition has not improved.
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Kershaw’s back as been hurting for a couple weeks now, but according to the L.A. Times, it hurt worse after Sunday’s start against the Pittsburgh Pirates, which also happened to be his first loss and his worst outing of the season.
It’s promising that Kershaw hopes to start Sunday, when the Colorado Rockies visit Chavez Ravine, but whether he makes it there is another matter entirely. His back could just need some time to work out — that’s what the Washington Nationals are hoping for Stephen Strasburg, who recently went on the 15-day DL because of his back. But we also know that the back is one of the toughest injuries to deal with.
Rather than play armchair doctor, let’s instead assess just what Kershaw has meant to the Dodgers this season. The Dodgers are 42-36 and seven games back in the NL West, and that’s with Kershaw pitching out of his mind.
He’s having one of those seasons where he might just win the MVP if he keeps up his pace. That pace? He’s 11-2 with a 1.79 ERA and an absurd 145-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He’s easily been the most valuable player in the game this season, according to Fangraphs. His 5.5 Wins Above Replacement is almost an entire win higher than Mike Trout at 4.6.
Put this in the context of the Dodgers rotation and it’s even more important. The Dodgers’ team ERA is 3.67, sixth best in MLB. Take away Kershaw? It’s 4.35, 14th in the league.
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Clayton Kershaw’s back injury could be bad news for the Dodgers. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
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That’s actually not as bad as you might think, considering how rough the starting pitching situation has been. The Dodgers are still without two starters whose injuries carried over from last season in Hyun-jin Ryu (shoulder) and Brandon McCarthy (Tommy John surgery). Both are rehabbing and could be back soon, but it’s hard to count on shoulders and elbows.
Beyond that, Brett Anderson is out for the season. Scott Kazmir and his 4.67 ERA have been meh. Alex Wood isn’t a ton better with his 3.99 ERA. And they’ve used a hodge-podge of Ross Stripling, Mike Bolsinger and Nick Tepesch for 15 starts. Kenta Maeda seems to the only other good Dodgers starter. He rebounded from a tough May and got his ERA back down to 2.91.
If Kershaw needs to miss time, the training wheels may need to come off 19-year-old Julio Urias. In his first six starts, he’s shown he can strike people out, but he’s hardly a polished product. He has a 4.33 ERA and hasn’t reached the seventh inning yet.
What all this means is, if you’re a Dodgers fan, player or front-office member, you better cross your fingers and your toes that Kershaw’s back is all right. Otherwise, this season might get ugly.
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