Is it time that we look into the possibility that injuries are going to derail Clayton Kershaw’s career.
This season alone Kershaw has missed 30 days do to bicep tendonitis. He returned from that injury this past Thursday to take the mound against the Philadelphia Phillies. Kershaw pitched 5 innings throwing 62 pitches. He gave up 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 5 and walking just 1. Kershaw got a no-decision in a game that the Phillies ended up winning 2-1.
It appears as though it was just another first start off of the disabled list. A pitcher throws a certain number of innings on a pitch count and the team looks to stretch him out in his next start. Sadly for Kershaw and his Los Angeles Dodgers this wasn’t the case.
After the game the Dodgers placed Kershaw back onto the disabled list with what is being called a strained back. This is the second time Kershaw has dealt with this injury as it caused him to miss some starts last season. As of no there is no timetable for Kershaw’s return.
Kershaw’s first season was 2008 where he pithed in 22 games starting 21 of them. Then from 2009 to 2015 Kershaw made 30 plus starts in six of those seven seasons and threw 200 plus innings in five of those seven seasons. He also won three Cy Young awards and MVP award over that time period.
Now the past three seasons Kershaw has made 21 starts in 2016, 27 starts in 2017 and just 8 starts this season.
Even without Kershaw the Dodgers have found a way to hang around in the NL West race, but is there anyone out there that believe the Dodgers are a contender without Kershaw in their starting rotation?
Kershaw has been considered the best pitcher in baseball for quite some time now, but you don’t hear that phrase associated with his name anymore. There are still some people who call him the best left handed pitcher in baseball, but is that even true now?
Looking at Kershaw’s career numbers he’s truly been a fantastic pitcher. His career record is 145-68 with an ERA of 2.37. His winning percentage of .681 is the best of any active pitcher in baseball today and it ranks 7th all-time. As far as ERA again he has the top ranked active pitcher and overall he has the 24th lowest ERA of all-time. Those are very impressive numbers, especially the ERA since Kershaw has pitched in an era where home runs are a priority and there have been questions of juiced baseballs.
This is the first time Kershaw has ever had back to back injuries and you have to wonder if the 2018 season is going to lost for him. Besides just dealing with the injuries there are some other questions that will have to be addressed.
Kershaw is making $35,571,429 million dollar this season and he has two more years on his deal. Next season his salary is $34,571,429 million dollars and then in 2020 Kershaw’s salary goes back to the $35,571,429 million dollar he making this season, but there is an opt out clause in Kershaw’s contract after this season. Looking at the situation Kershaw is in right now you’ think he’d stay with the Dodgers, but if he was to return this season and he should if he goes out and has some Kershaw like starts there would be teams lining up to pay him this off season.
I’ve always been a fan of players spending their entire careers with ne team, but we all know in todays baseball that is difficult to do. Do you see Clayton Kershaw playing his entire career in a Dodgers uniform? Or is there a chance that he opts out and is wearing a different uniform in 2019?
Hanley Ramirez is officially a free agent. The Boston Red Sox designated Ramirez for assignment giving them 10 days to either trade or release him. Now it was no surprise that the Red Sox couldn’t find a trade partner for Ramirez. Ramirez was under contract for $22 million dollars this season and had a vesting option for another $22 million dollars if he gets another 302 at bats this season. I’m sure the Red Sox looked for deals involving Ramirez, but there wasn’t a team out there that was willing to take on that contract in a trade.
Now that Ramirez has been officially released by the Red Sox those contract provisions go away. He will still be paid the balance of his $22 million dollar salary by the Red Sox for this season minus the pro rated league minimum by which ever team signs Ramirez. The vesting option applied to the Contract that Ramirez had with the Red Sox; so when he signs with a new team they will not be responsible for that vesting option.
The Red Sox officially asked for release waivers on Ramirez on May 30th. It took 48 hours for him to clear waivers; so as of June 1st he is eligible to sign with any team.
Ramirez came out of the gate swinging the bat. He hit .330 in April and show no signs of the shoulder problems he had last season. When the calendar turned to May Ramirez seemed to stop hitting. Since May 1st Ramirez was hitting just .163 and ended his career as a Red Sox on an 0 for 21 streak.
Ramirez is a former Rookie of the Year and has been named to 3 All-Star teams. Ramirez has also won 2 Silver Slugger awards and back when it meant something he won a batting title; he also has a career .290 batting average.
Through his career Ramirez has played Shortstop, 3rd base, Leftfield, but the last three seasons he’s only played 1st base or Designated Hitter. At 34 years old it would be difficult to see Ramirez paying anything other than 1st base or being a teams DH.
Depending on what a team thinks it needs might be the deciding factor on where Ramirez ends up. He has 20 games of post season experience and has a .380 career post season average. could he bring some of that experience to a young team that thinks they’re in the race? Or is it more likely that a team with a lot of veterans adds Ramirez as a bat off the bench and part time player?
Do you have a landing spot for Ramirez?
You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but don’t forget that the podcast is also available for you to listen to at time you want at TuneIn.com.
Don’t forget that I’m on Twitter @Burketime
Sports Time Radio 