Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw expects to be OK for spring training

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SAN FRANCISCO — Clayton Kershaw received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his elbow Thursday and said he is confident he will be ready to pitch in the spring.

“That’s going to be my treatment,” said the Dodgers left-hander, who missed two months of the season with a forearm/elbow injury then left his final start of the regular season in the second inning with a recurrence of the discomfort.

“I’m going to rest and let it heal. I’m not going to get surgery on it or anything. Everybody I’ve talked to, all the doctors and everything, feel good that I’ll be good to go by spring training.”

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is created from the patient’s own blood which is placed in a centrifuge to extract concentrated platelets. Those platelets are injected back into the injured area to stimulate healing in damaged tissue.

In recent years, pitchers have frequently opted for PRP injections to treat injured elbow ligaments. Among the pitchers who have gone that route were former Dodgers right-hander Chad Billingsley, current Angels star Shohei Ohtani, former Angels right-hander Garrett Richards and Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale. All eventually underwent Tommy John surgery to replace the ulnar collateral ligament.

Kershaw referred to his injury as “a flexor (tendon) issue” and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said scans last week showed no damage to Kershaw’s UCL.

Kershaw said he “talked to a lot of people, been on the phone a lot” before deciding to take the PRP route.

“I feel good about it,” he said.

There is no timetable for when he might start an offseason throwing program.

“I think it’s just kind of week to week. We have tons of time,” Kershaw said. “We’re going to be cautious this time. I’ve never given it the rest it’s needed, for whatever reason, trying to get back for the postseason. Really I just came back too soon the first time. So I’m going to be cautious this time. It’s going to be a while.”

The 33-year-old Kershaw is in the final year of his contract, and the three-time Cy Young Award winner could conceivably enter the free-agent market with a very uncertain future.

“This month, this is all I care about right now,” Kershaw said when asked about his future. “I don’t want to distract anybody, take anything away from that. Right now, we’ve got to focus on the Giants. That’s what I’m focused on. It’s obviously from a different vantage point, which is frustrating. I’m just going to try and be a good chearleader for now.”

He reiterated that he doesn’t know what will happen with his contract situation or which team he might be trying to pitch for next spring.

“I think I said a while ago I have no idea. I still have no idea,” he said. “Win the World Series and we’ll go from there.

“Once again, the future was not in my mind (when the injury recurred). The only thing was not being able to pitch this month. That’s the only thing that came into my mind. … When you’re on this team, you get the luxury of being able to think about that a lot. That’s what I wanted to do. But I’ve got a lot of confidence in the guys we’re going to run out there. We’re going to be 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 four position players added for the wild-card game (Billy McKinney and Steven Souza Jr.) are also included on the NLDS roster.

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

Roberts said Price’s experience and ability to pitch multiple innings plus his more neutral splits against right- and left-handed batters tipped the balance in his favor.

“Justin certainly has done some really good things for us in a small sample,” Roberts said. “Kind of where we feel him going up and down, back-to-back right now, we’re just not 100 percent comfortable with.”

Roberts acknowledged that Price could be an option to start Game 4 as an “opener.” The Giants have been slightly better against right-handed pitching this season (a .776 OPS vs. .752 against right-handers).

MEAN TIME

The NL West champion San Francisco Giants have had to endure a season’s worth of questions about their success. Manager Gabe Kapler was asked again before NLDS Game 1 why the Giants (who were projected to be a 75-win team by one analytical site) had never regressed to the mean.

”I guess I don’t know what the mean would be for our team, to be honest with you,” Kapler said. “I mean, I really think the mean for the Giants is not the same as it was in 2020 or in spring training or three months ago or two weeks ago. So I really don’t know. I think we’re a good baseball team with a lot of good players who pull really hard in the same direction, a lot of unselfish players who have stepped up throughout the season.

“That’s the best way I can answer it.”

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