Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday that Tommy John surgery is “not on the table” for ace Clayton Kershaw and that he is hoping first baseman Max Muncy can rejoin the team later this month.
Roberts provided the updates on two key players who will be missing from Wednesday’s National League Wild Card Game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Roberts said he is trying to hold out “a glimmer of hope” that Muncy can return later in October. Muncy injured his left elbow in Sunday’s regular-season finale, with Roberts saying at the time that Muncy was “very unlikely” for the wild-card game and unlikely to be available for the division series if the Dodgers advance.
Roberts said Tuesday that Muncy did not tear his ulnar collateral ligament and will not need surgery, and that he has been known to “heal quickly.”
Kershaw left his start Friday night and returned to the injured list Saturday with left forearm discomfort, the same injury that had sidelined him from Aug. 9 to Sept. 13. He is not expected to pitch again this season.
Roberts said scans showed no ligament damage for Kershaw.
“Long term, not to have any ligament damage was a huge sigh of relief for all of us,” he said.
Information from ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and The Associated Press was used in this report.