LA’s Kershaw says he’s concerned about this year, not the future
Dodgers’ ace had back injury in ’16
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw said he has “no worries or concerns” about the back injury that sidelined him for 2½ months last season.
Kershaw threw a bullpen session Wednesday as Dodgers pitchers and catchers reported to camp. The first official workout is today, but several Dodgers pitchers threw off bullpen mounds Wednesday.
Kershaw said he had been throwing off a mound once a week since the start of January in preparation for spring training.
“I’ve been doing good,” he said when asked how his back had responded during offseason workouts. “I’m excited to give it a good test here in spring training.”
The notoriously hardworking Kershaw said he made some adjustments to his workout routine as a concession to the mildly herniated disc that put him out of action last season — but only minor ones.
“The routine has been a little different but it’s not drastic changes, which is great. I still feel like I’m able to get the work I need,” he said. “I’m just a little more aware of not pushing through stuff. But for the most part, it hasn’t changed.”
Nor have his goals. Kershaw said his goal is to “make every start this year” and he is not concerned beyond that.
“I’m not a big futures guy,” he said. “I just want to pitch. … I’ll do whatever I can to make that next start. I’ll worry about the next years when I need to. If it costs me somewhere down the road, it does. But I’m here to make every start this year. I feel like that’s what I’m supposed to do.”
Kershaw said he gave “serious consideration” to pitching in the World Baseball Classic but decided against joining Team USA.
“It’s an honor and I wanted to do it,” he said of the international competition. “But taking a lot of things into consideration, I just thought it was best for me not to do it.
“It was definitely not a decision I took lightly.”
MORE DODGERS: Reliever Sergio Romo signed a $3 million, one-year deal with Los Angeles on Wednesday after nine seasons with archrival San Francisco.
Romo’s deal includes $250,000 in performance bonuses, with $125,000 each for appearing in 50 and 60 games. He is likely to be the Dodgers’ setup man for closer Kenley Jansen.
The right-hander with a nasty slider has been the NL’s busiest reliever since his big-league debut in 2008, appearing in 515 games for the Giants.
He is 32-26 with a 2.58 ERA and 84 saves while winning three World Series titles in San Francisco. He recorded the final out of the 2012 World Series, striking out Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera.
BRAVES: There’s a good chance Atlanta infielderoutfielder Sean Rodriguez will miss the season after having left-shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff.
Rodriguez, 31, was injured in a Jan. 28 twocar accident in Miami that left his wife with significant injuries and two of their children briefly hospitalized. Rodriguez was driving an SUV with his family when the vehicle was T-boned by a police car that was stolen minutes before.
Atlanta gave no timetable for Rodriguez’s return, but rotator-cuff surgery typically requires four to six months of rehabilitation. The surgery was performed Tuesday by Dr. James Andrews at his clinic in Gulf Breeze, Fla.
Coming off a career-best season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016, Rodriguez signed a two-year, $11.5 million contract with the Braves in November and was expected to be their primary second baseman.
WORLD CLASSIC: Nearly two years after he retired from baseball, left-hander Bruce Chen, 39, is getting ready to pitch for China in the World Baseball Classic.
Chen retired after the Cleveland Indians designated him for assignment May 15, 2015, and none of the other teams claimed him off waivers. When the team from China reached out to him late last year, Chen wondered if it was looking for a pitching coach.
“Two days later, they told me they wanted me to pitch,” Chen said Wednesday. NATIONALS: First baseman Adam Lind and Washington have finalized a $1.5 million, one-year contract.
Lind gets $1 million this year, and the deal includes a 2018 mutual option with a $500,000 buyout.