Dodgers Way Quick Hits: Kershaw, Hill, Maeda, Buehler, Roster

Clayton Kershaw, who has missed a significant amount of time this season, is on the road to recovery and has started throwing a baseball again. In a press conference on Saturday, June 9, Dave Roberts told the media that Kershaw is “symptom-free” and can begin working towards a return in the near future. Kershaw played catch on Saturday and that reportedly went well. Kershaw’s return will be a huge boost for the Dodgers especially since they finally found their stride and are performing at a high level. Updates on Kershaw should start to become more frequent and all of that information will be posted in a Quick Hits article.

Other notes…

• Rich Hill, like Kershaw, is nearing a return. Hill has been sidelined with what has become a rather chronic blister on his left middle finger. Hill develops the nagging injury from throwing his signature curveball as the ball rubs his finger until it breaks open. Hill has been rehabbing the injury with a cover on that finger until Saturday when he threw 60 pitches with an uncovered finger. Roberts told media that the ball was coming out of Hill’s hand really nicely and the next step would be a five-inning or 75 pitch side work. Hill could get that done in either a bullpen, a sim-game, or a rehab assignment most likely with High-A Rancho Cucamonga. Roberts said if that goes well, Hill can be activated. It is still unknown whether he will rejoin the rotation or pitch from the bullpen.

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• Kenta Maeda is in a similar boat as his injured teammates. Maeda injured his hamstring a week and a half ago in a game and was placed on the disabled list to give the injury time to heal. Maeda has started playing catch and could make his return next week at some point. Despite some inconsistencies, Maeda has enjoyed a pretty good season striking out 68 batters in 52.1 innings. Maeda also owns a 3.61 ERA and a 106 ERA+.

• Walker Buehler went in for testing after being removed from his start against the Braves with rib soreness. The team sent him for X-rays to rule out a broken rib and the results were negative. With no structural damage to the budding ace, the Dodgers are now focusing on doing whatever it takes to get him feeling good and are willing to give him whatever time he needs to get to that place.

• The Dodgers made more roster moves on Saturday when they added 27-year old starter and reliever, Daniel Corcino, to both the 40 and 25-man rosters. Corcino has been fantastic in the minors with a 2.22 ERA across both Triple and Double-A. Corcino has struck out 8.7 batters per nine innings and his promotion came as no surprise. To accommodate Corcino, the Dodgers put Dennis Santana on the 60-day DL and optioned Pat Venditte to the minors.

Next: Dodgers Way Quick Hits: Buehler, Santana, Roster, Trade