LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw is nursing stiffness in his back and will begin the season on the 10-day injured list, prompting highly rated prospect Dustin May to temporarily replace him in the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ starting rotation.
The Dodgers made the announcement about four hours before Kershaw was slated to throw the first pitch in the opening game against the division-rival San Francisco Giants on Thursday night.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Kershaw’s back originally stiffened up while he was working out in the weight room Tuesday. Kershaw received treatment that night and felt better the following day but seemingly couldn’t get his back loosened properly after arriving at Dodger Stadium the morning of his first start.
“Just to make sure we err on the side of caution, didn’t feel that it was prudent to start him,” Roberts said.
Roberts didn’t provide a timetable for Kershaw’s return, but the left-hander will miss at least two turns through the rotation given the minimum requirement for an IL stint. May, ESPN’s 19th-rated prospect in March, is properly stretched out to start and was told this might be a possibility Wednesday so that he wouldn’t take part in his scheduled simulated game.
May graduated through the Dodgers’ Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2019 and contributed 34⅔ innings down the stretch, posting a 3.63 ERA and a 6.40 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The red-haired, 6-foot-6, 22-year-old right-hander features a plus slider and a hard, sinking fastball that can generate a lot of grounders and swing-and-misses. Roberts considers May “very unflappable.”
“He’s a very confident young man, obviously has really good stuff,” Roberts said. “When a change of plans happens, Dustin adjusts very well.”
May becomes the first Dodgers rookie to start on Opening Day since Fernando Valenzuela in 1981. Kershaw was scheduled to start Opening Day for the ninth time in his career but will miss time with a back injury for the fourth time in the past five years. His absence is increasingly troublesome, given David Price’s decision to opt out of the 2020 season — which followed an offseason in which the Dodgers parted ways with Hyun-Jin Ryu, Rich Hill and Kenta Maeda.
Said Roberts, “The disappointment for me is for Clayton because he’s as prepared a player as I’ve ever been around, and starting an Opening Day means a lot to him.”