October 9th, 2021 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka The good news is that Dodgers ace and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw is with his team in San Francisco for the 2021 National League Division Series.
The bad news is that he won’t be pitching there – or anywhere – anytime soon.
During his team’s pre-NLDS workout at Oracle Park on Friday afternoon, the 33-year-old Dallas, TX native and Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2006 out of Highland Park High School in University Park, TX, confirmed with reporters that he will not require surgery on his Hall of Fame left elbow for what has repeatedly been called “left forearm discomfort.” Instead, Kershaw told reporters that he will have a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in his left arm.
“That’s going to be my treatment, and I’m just going to rest it, let it heal,” Kershaw said. “Not going to get surgery on it or anything, and everybody I’ve talked to, all the doctors and everything, feel good that I’ll be good to go by Spring Training. So, that’s the plan.”
A sound plan indeed.
The extremely popular lefty then admitted to what every Dodger fan on the planet pretty much already knew.
“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.”
(Photo credit – Carrie Giordano)
There is a huge caveat, however. As everyone in the baseball world knows, Kershaw becomes a free agent when the final out of the 2021 World Series is recorded. As such, where he will be “…good to go by Spring Training” remains a mystery. And as he has done throughout this, the final year of his lofty three-year / $93 million contract, he yet again deflected questions regarding his pending free agency or where he might land next season.
Stay tuned…
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Although I’m relieved that Kersh is optimistic, I however am not.
As we all know, the platelet rich plasma therapy is a last resort before surgery. It’s happened quite a lot.
I hope and pray that we have our GOAT ready for Spring Training.
Guess I’m gonna have to be cautiously optimistic.
Being the eternal pessimist that I am, I would rather see Kershaw have TJ surgery now and get it over with. I certainly believe that PRP helps, but as you noted, Kenn, it merely prolongs the inevitable.
My guess is that if the PRP treatment doesn’t resolve the issue, Clayton will retire … hopefully as a Dodger.
Kersh knows better than all of us that the PRP is only prolonging the inevitable. Makes me wonder WHY he doesnt just have the surgery and then be absolutely certain his arm would be ready to continue pitching….except it would be sometimes in the 2023 season?
It makes me wonder if he intends to continue his career past 2022?