Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw expects to be OK for spring training

SAN FRANCISCO — Clayton Kershaw received a platelet-rich plasma injection successful his elbow Thursday and said helium is assured helium volition beryllium acceptable to transportation successful the spring.

“That’s going to beryllium my treatment,” said the Dodgers left-hander, who missed 2 months of the play with a forearm/elbow wounded past near his last commencement of the regular play successful the 2nd inning with a recurrence of the discomfort.

“I’m going to remainder and fto it heal. I’m not going to get country connected it oregon anything. Everybody I’ve talked to, each the doctors and everything, consciousness bully that I’ll beryllium bully to spell by outpouring training.”

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is created from the patient’s ain humor which is placed successful a centrifuge to extract concentrated platelets. Those platelets are injected backmost into the injured country to stimulate healing successful damaged tissue.

In caller years, pitchers person often opted for PRP injections to dainty injured elbow ligaments. Among the pitchers who person gone that way were erstwhile Dodgers right-hander Chad Billingsley, existent Angels prima Shohei Ohtani, erstwhile Angels right-hander Garrett Richards and Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale. All yet underwent Tommy John country to regenerate the ulnar collateral ligament.

Kershaw referred to his wounded arsenic “a flexor (tendon) issue” and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said scans past week showed nary harm to Kershaw’s UCL.

Kershaw said helium “talked to a batch of people, been connected the telephone a lot” earlier deciding to instrumentality the PRP route.

“I consciousness bully astir it,” helium said.

There is nary timetable for erstwhile helium mightiness commencement an offseason throwing program.

“I deliberation it’s conscionable benignant of week to week. We person tons of time,” Kershaw said. “We’re going to beryllium cautious this time. I’ve ne'er fixed it the remainder it’s needed, for immoderate reason, trying to get backmost for the postseason. Really I conscionable came backmost excessively soon the archetypal time. So I’m going to beryllium cautious this time. It’s going to beryllium a while.”

The 33-year-old Kershaw is successful the last twelvemonth of his contract, and the three-time Cy Young Award victor could conceivably participate the free-agent marketplace with a precise uncertain future.

“This month, this is each I attraction astir close now,” Kershaw said erstwhile asked astir his future. “I don’t privation to distract anybody, instrumentality thing distant from that. Right now, we’ve got to absorption connected the Giants. That’s what I’m focused on. It’s evidently from a antithetic vantage point, which is frustrating. I’m conscionable going to effort and beryllium a bully chearleader for now.”

He reiterated that helium doesn’t cognize what volition hap with his declaration concern oregon which squad helium mightiness beryllium trying to transportation for adjacent spring.

“I deliberation I said a portion agone I person nary idea. I inactive person nary idea,” helium said. “Win the World Series and we’ll spell from there.

“Once again, the aboriginal was not successful my caput (when the wounded recurred). The lone happening was not being capable to transportation this month. That’s the lone happening that came into my mind. … When you’re connected this team, you get the luxury of being capable to deliberation astir that a lot. That’s what I wanted to do. But I’ve got a batch of assurance successful the guys we’re going to tally retired there. We’re going to beryllium fine.”

ROSTER MOVES

Moving from the one-game, wild-card playoff to the best-of-five National League Division Series, the Dodgers went from 10 pitchers to 12 with left-hander David Price and Game 1 starter Walker Buehler added. Two of the 4 presumption players added for the wild-card crippled (Billy McKinney and Steven Souza Jr.) are besides included connected the NLDS roster.

Price got the motion implicit rookie left-hander Justin Bruihl who had a 2.89 ERA successful 18-2/3 innings with the Dodgers this season.

Roberts said Price’s acquisition and quality to transportation aggregate innings positive his much neutral splits against right- and left-handed batters tipped the equilibrium successful his favor.

“Justin surely has done immoderate truly bully things for america successful a tiny sample,” Roberts said. “Kind of wherever we consciousness him going up and down, back-to-back close now, we’re conscionable not 100 percent comfy with.”

Roberts acknowledged that Price could beryllium an enactment to commencement Game 4 arsenic an “opener.” The Giants person been somewhat amended against right-handed pitching this play (a .776 OPS vs. .752 against right-handers).

MEAN TIME

The NL West champion San Francisco Giants person had to endure a season’s worthy of questions astir their success. Manager Gabe Kapler was asked again earlier NLDS Game 1 wherefore the Giants (who were projected to beryllium a 75-win squad by 1 analytical site) had ne'er regressed to the mean.

”I conjecture I don’t cognize what the mean would beryllium for our team, to beryllium honorable with you,” Kapler said. “I mean, I truly deliberation the mean for the Giants is not the aforesaid arsenic it was successful 2020 oregon successful outpouring grooming oregon 3 months agone oregon 2 weeks ago. So I truly don’t know. I deliberation we’re a bully shot squad with a batch of bully players who propulsion truly hard successful the aforesaid direction, a batch of unselfish players who person stepped up passim the season.

“That’s the champion mode I tin reply it.”