Dodgers Injury Update: Clayton Kershaw return, Max Muncy delay, Jason Heyward IL

When Clayton Kershaw reported some shoulder soreness after his first rehab outing in Single-A, it felt sadly inevitable. Up until that point, Kershaw had been enjoying a rather seamless return to pitching shape since his shoulder surgery last year, but rehab processes are hardly ever linear and it felt like something was bound to sidetrack him.

Luckily, new imaging on his shoulder showed no new signs of damage, so although Kershaw's timeline was pushed back by a couple of weeks, initial estimates said that the Dodgers wouldn't expect him to be back until late July or early August.

He went back to rest after the initial report and has had to take a few steps back en route to more rehab starts, but he threw a sim game at Dodger Stadium on Sunday and he could be back to a rehab assignment next week if all goes well.

The rotation is in dire need of another arm, but rushing Kershaw (the way the Dodgers seemed to do with Bobby Miller) is definitely not on the table given his surgery and age. LA can take their time with this one.

Dodgers injury updates: Clayton Kershaw resumes throwing, Max Muncy sitting again, Jason Heyward moved to the IL

Unlike Kershaw, Max Muncy was hit with some more bad news after resuming some light baseball activities during the Dodgers' series against the Giants in late June. His recovery process has been anything but linear; he's been sidelined and restarted multiple times since going onto the IL in mid-May.

Now, he's fully out of commission again. Dave Roberts said Muncy isn't swinging a bat and "anything rotational still gives him some discomfort," which definitely makes it sound like little to no progress has been made at all since the initial roster move. We've been completely without a timeline for his return, and it seems like things will stay that way for a while.

There's also some more bad news for Jason Heyward, who's already missed about a month and a half at the beginning of the season with back tightness. He went on the 10-day IL on Friday with a knee bone bruise after being taken out of the Dodgers' final game against the Diamondbacks the night before.

However, Roberts said that there were no signs of a tear in his knee, and he expects Heyward to be able to return in 1-2 weeks. James Outman, who's been hitting well in the minors since he was optioned back to Triple-A, was called back up in the corresponding move.

None of this is amazing news, but at least Kershaw is somewhat up and running again and Heyward isn't expected to be gone for long.