If you happened to be one of the handful of people working at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, you were lucky enough to witness a star-studded simulation game highlighted by three-time Cy Young Award Winner Clayton Kershaw.
Kershaw joined fellow teammates Scott Kazmir, Brett Anderson, and Brandon McCarthy on the mound at Dodger Stadium as the rehabilitating pitchers squared off against Class-A Rancho Cucamonga hitters.
For Kershaw, it was the first time he's faced competitive hitters since his last start in Pittsburgh on June 26 when he left the game and went on the disabled list with a herniated disc in his lower back.
The 2014 MVP threw two innings of the simulated game, Anderson (blister) threw four, and Kazmir (neck) and McCarthy (hip) each threw five.
The star-studded sim game was a good sign for the Dodgers depleted starting rotation as it means that many of the key pieces of the team's projected starting rotation this season are set to return.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes that out of the four pitchers featured on Tueday, Kazmir is the closest to returning.
However, Kazmir is the last of the four pitchers to become eligible to return with Kershaw able to be activated at any time, McCarthy on Wednesday, Anderson next Tuesday and Kazmir on Thursday.
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Roberts believes that Kazmir does not need a rehab start and can return and start as soon as Sept. 8 when he's eligible to come off the DL. Anderson and McCarthy will need at least one rehab assignment before they are ready to return and while Kershaw would be ready to pitch this weekend against San Diego, the front office knows they need to restrain their star player.
"My guess is Kersh wants to pitch in a Major League game tomorrow, but with the time he's missed [two months], my guess is the next step will be a Minor League assignment," President of Baseball Operations, Andrew Friedman told the media on Tuesday. "It will take a little time to build him up to be strong through September and October as well. All of it is speculative."
Kershaw told Friedman he felt great after facing hitters on Tuesday, but the organization wants to wait to see how his body responds on Wednesday before scheduling the next step in his rehab.
If all goes well, Kershaw will likely get a few more days of rest before he could appear with a minor league affiliate in the playoffs as early as Sept. 5.
"You have to balance that with he's as competitive as a person as I've ever been around and he wants to get out here and help the team in the worst way," Friedman said of Kershaw. "We'll have to balance the medical opinion with the way he's feeling in the most responsible way possible."
Regardless of when Dodger fans will see Kershaw on the mound next, all signs point to a return for the best pitcher on the planet just in time for a pennant chase.
With rosters set to expand on Thursday from 25 to 40, and at least five potential starting pitchers able to return in the days after, we can safely say that reinforcements are on the way for the most injured team in Major League history.
8/30/16-Clayton Kershaw, Brett Anderson, Brandon McCarthy and Scott Kazmir at Dodger… https://t.co/BVIrS6Mkmn pic.twitter.com/olIqlCBbQp — Jon SooHoo (@JonSooHooPics) August 31, 2016
