LOS ANGELES -- Clayton Kershaw is still not ruling out the possibility of pitching in the playoffs, even though lingering pain in his left big toe has placed him in what Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently described as a "holding pattern."
"I'm not giving up," Kershaw said Thursday. "I'm going to keep trying every day. Maybe it'll feel better one day. I'm just waiting for that day to happen."
Kershaw, out since Aug. 30 with what the Dodgers have described as a bone spur in his toe, recently stopped throwing off a mound because the pain from pushing off the rubber has forced him to compensate, leading to other issues.
"There's only a percentage I can throw without other stuff starting to bother me because I'm throwing differently," Kershaw said. "Whenever my toe feels better, I'm confident that I'll be good."
When that day occurs, though, remains to be seen.
The Dodgers clinched the National League West with a win over the San Diego Padres on Thursday night, meaning their first playoff game won't be until Oct. 5.
Kershaw, however, wouldn't be an option for at least "a couple weeks," Roberts said.
"And then we'll see what that looks like as far as our playoff push," Roberts said. "You still got to build up, you still got to throw a 'pen, you still got to face hitters. Right now, he's just playing light catch, so, I don't know. I don't know."
In all likelihood, the Dodgers will go into the NL Division Series with a four-man rotation consisting of Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler and 27-year-old rookie Landon Knack, though Tony Gonsolin, who has made three rehab starts in his return from Tommy John surgery, might be an option.
The Dodgers' expectation of relying heavily on their bullpen in October took a hit Thursday, when Brusdar Graterol returned to the injured list with inflammation in the same right shoulder that caused him to miss the season's first four months.
"What that looks like for the rest of the season, I just don't know," Roberts said of Graterol's status. "I think it's going to be a week-to-week situation."
The Dodgers activated backup catcher Austin Barnes on Thursday, 11 days after he fractured his left big toe on a foul tip, but were without veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas, who exited Wednesday's game early with a groin injury. Rojas, who has been dealing with lower body issues for most of the year, received a pain-relieving injection and hopes to play in Sunday's regular-season finale.
The question is whether he can manage the pain through October.
"That's the reason I've been getting off-days here and there," Rojas said Wednesday night. "We figured out that with the playoff schedule, you're never going to play more than three in a row. Hopefully my ability to stay on top of it, plus the little injection with the medicine, helps. I'm going to give my all."
Kershaw, too, has been doing everything he can, going so far as throwing an 80-plus-pitch bullpen session while the Dodgers were in Miami last week. The 36-year-old left-hander said he got off the mound one or two other times after the team returned home last Friday, but he is currently restricted to playing catch.
"I feel like it's progressing," Kershaw said of his toe. "It's just been obviously not as fast as I had hoped."
Kershaw has tried an assortment of methods to keep his arm active while waiting for his toe to heal, from extended sessions off flat ground to throwing off a portable ramp to testing different angles off a pitching rubber. The latter step, however, continues to give him trouble. Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who operated on Kershaw's shoulder last offseason, assured him recently that the toe would not eventually require surgery. It just needs time.
Kershaw doesn't have much of it left.
"My arm I'm keeping going as best as I can," Kershaw said. "I really think when my toe's better, I think I'll be ready to pitch. Just need to get to at least close to 100% so I can throw normal."