MILWAUKEE -- In what will be one of the final acts of his career, Clayton Kershaw is down for whatever.
The Dodgers did the obvious thing on Monday, keeping Kershaw on their National League Championship Series roster despite his inauspicious mop-up appearance during the NL Division Series against the Phillies. Manager Dave Roberts said he was unsure what sort of leverage the Dodgers might be willing to give Kershaw, who has allowed 10 earned runs over his last two postseason outings dating to 2023. But Kershaw, Roberts added, “is going to be available for whatever is asked of him.”
At some point in a best-of-seven series against the Brewers, the likely future Hall of Famer is likely to pitch.
“His mindset all along has been, ‘I want to do whatever I can to help us win,’” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “And he’s embodied that. I would bet on him to be a part of helping us win this series.”
Kershaw, who has announced his intention to retire after the season, is one of the most decorated pitchers in modern history, with three NL Cy Young Awards, an MVP, 11 All-Star selections and two World Series titles. But he has routinely scuffled in the postseason, with a 4.63 career ERA in those games, and at age 37 is no longer the physical force he once was. Although Kershaw produced a 3.36 ERA over 22 starts and a relief appearance during the regular season, his advanced metrics ranked among the worst of his career.
At a time of year when velocity really matters, Kershaw is also one of the softest throwers in the Majors. During the left-hander’s lone NLDS appearance, the Phillies hammered his pitches for five runs (four earned) over two innings in the Dodgers’ only loss.
Still, Kershaw is Kershaw, and his inclusion on the NLCS roster is more than just symbolic. Roberts said he anticipated using Kershaw potentially as a multi-inning arm who can retire both right- and left-handed hitters.
In the NLDS, the Dodgers relied mostly on their starting pitchers, with Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan and Alex Vesia handling the majority of relief innings. If Roberts’ trust tree expands during a best-of-seven NLCS, however, Kershaw could find himself in more important situations.
“He’s going to have a statue out in front of Dodger Stadium,” Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts said after Kershaw’s NLDS outing. “Keep that in mind and understand that in the grand scheme of things, Kershaw is a first-ballot Hall of Famer -- one of the best to ever do it.”