Clayton Kershaw moves closer to rejoining Dodgers

DETROIT –After “a little blip on the screen,” Clayton Kershaw could be one rehab start away from returning to the Dodgers’ starting rotation.

Kershaw went three innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City Saturday, throwing 38 pitches in the game and another 12 in the bullpen. He is scheduled to make another rehab start for OKC on Friday and could rejoin the Dodgers after that.

Saturday was Kershaw’s second start on a minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignment as he works to return from shoulder surgery last November. He pitched three innings for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on June 19 but experienced soreness in his shoulder following the outing and was shut down for a week. An MRI showed no additional damage and Kershaw received an injection as treatment before returning to his throwing program.

“Tonight felt good,” Kershaw told reporters after the game Saturday. “Thankful it was only a little blip on the screen. Able to get back out here, get through three innings which is big. Overall there were a lot of positives. There’s stuff I still have to work on but overall it was a positive night.”

Kershaw referred to “definitely” having one more rehab and stretching out to four innings plus another in the bullpen.

“I texted with him last night and he felt really excited about it,” Roberts said.

“He’ll pitch next Friday for the OKC team. Obviously the plan is to get through four innings and maybe do a fifth up in the ‘pen. Really encouraging. Really good. The stuff was good. He said he felt great coming out of it.”

If Kershaw thinks he will be ready to return to the big leagues after one more rehab outing, “we should be open to that,” Roberts said.

“Certainly if he looks as good as he did last night on Friday, I think anything should be on the table,” Roberts said. “I’m definitely open to that.”

ROSTER MOVES

The Dodgers claimed right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. on waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates and added him to the roster in order to start Sunday.

Right-hander Ricky Vanasco was optioned back to Triple-A to clear a roster spot and right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto was moved to the 60-day Injured List to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Yamamoto is out with a strained rotator cuff and will not be eligible to return until August 15 now. But he only began a throwing program this week, playing catch from 60 feet and was not expected back until well after that date.

“I’m just hoping he does come back,” Roberts said. “But for me – I have no timeline.”

MOOKIE PROGRESS

Roberts said he spoke with Mookie Betts Sunday morning and Betts had taken a step forward in his recovery from a fractured left hand.

“He was taking shallow, short ground balls, catching them,” Roberts said. “He was really excited about that, so that’s a good thing.”

Betts had been doing “shadow” work during the homestand last week, mimicking the movements of catching ground balls without the impact on his injured hand.

Betts has been out since June 16. The Dodgers have not given a timetable for his return.