Los Angeles Dodgers ace left-hander Clayton Kershaw will make his season debut on Saturday against the visiting Los Angeles Angels.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner and 2014 National League MVP has been sidelined after offseason surgery to repair meniscus damage in his left knee and a ruptured plantar plate in his left big toe.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Kershaw’s fifth and final rehab start displayed he was ready. Kershaw gave up two runs and two hits in four innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday.
The return of Kershaw, 37, also comes at a time in which the starting rotation is dealing with injuries.
“It’s great. It’s a big shot in the arm,” Roberts said of Kershaw’s return. “Clayton has worked really hard to get healthy, and the bar is high for him. He doesn’t want to just come back to be active. He wants to come back and help us win baseball games and be good. And so I know he’s excited to contribute.”
Kershaw made just seven starts last season during an injury ravaged season. He went 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA.
Overall, the 10-time All-Star is 212-94 with a 2.50 ERA and 2,968 strikeouts in 432 appearances (429 starts) over 17 seasons, all with the Dodgers.
Rookie right-hander Roki Sasaki (shoulder) was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday and he joins right-hander Tyler Glasnow (shoulder) and left-hander Blake Snell (shoulder). Sasaki, 23, is 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts after joining Los Angeles after four successful seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan.
“Just getting No. 22 back in the rotation is a huge shot in the arm of our ballclub,” Roberts said of Kershaw. “With Clayton just being back, I think it just adds an element of certainty and kind of performance.”
Los Angeles also recalled right-hander J.P. Feyereisen from Oklahoma City prior to Tuesday’s home game against the Athletics. This is his second career stint with the Dodgers after being claimed off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 1.
Feyereisen, 32, took the loss while allowing a 10th-inning run (not earned) in his lone outing for the Dodgers this season. That came on May 6 when the Miami Marlins won in walk-off fashion. He also made two relief appearances for the Diamondbacks in April and went 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA.
Overall, he is 8-7 with a 3.07 ERA in 96 appearances (two starts) with the Milwaukee Brewers (2020-21), Tampa Bay Rays (2021-22), Dodgers (2024, 2025) and Diamondbacks (2025).
–Field Level Media
