PHOENIX — Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw will no longer be participating in the World Baseball Classic.
Kershaw, who was listed on the Team USA roster when the names were announced earlier this month, declined to go into detail about the reasons for his absence but noted that he was “100% healthy” and disappointed, surprised and frustrated that he won’t get to play.
“Nothing’s wrong with me, just didn’t work out,” Kershaw revealed Friday. “I really wanted to do it. I really wanted to be a part of that group, probably my last chance to get to do it, so I really wanted to do it. Just didn’t work out for a number of reasons. Disappointing, but that’s OK. I’ll be ready for the season, ready to go.”
Multiple reports have stated that the issue was related to insurance coverage. Kershaw has made several trips to the injured list due to back issues since 2016 and also missed time in 2021 due to a flexor tendon strain in his arm, though he said he felt fine entering spring training this year and threw a bullpen session on Thursday. A similar occurrence took place six years ago when Sonny Gray was unable to pitch in the WBC due to being denied insurance coverage for the tournament.
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“I don’t think that’s super important,” Kershaw said when asked why he won’t be participating. “There were some factors that were making it hard for me to play, and I tried to work it out on my own, tried to work it out with the MLB union, the team, everybody worked hard to try to make it work. Just wasn’t able to.”
Kershaw had the Dodgers’ blessing to pitch in the WBC, where he would’ve joined teammates Mookie Betts and Will Smith on Team USA. He had also spoken recently with other members of Team USA, including Cardinals Adam Wainwright and Paul Goldschmidt and manager Mark DeRosa, about how excited he was to play with them.
The soon-to-be 35-year-old Kershaw didn’t anticipate there being any issue that would prevent him from playing, so he was surprised when it didn’t work out.
“Just such a great group that it would’ve been really fun to be part of,” he said. “It’s almost like an All-Star Game with meaning. I was getting really excited about it. I’m bummed, it’s disappointing, but obviously it’s not the most important thing. I’m here with the Dodgers, and we’ll be ready for the season.”
Kershaw is the second Team USA pitcher to be removed from the roster this week. The Yankees’ Nestor Cortes had to pull out of the tournament after tweaking his hamstring. Merrill Kelly, Lance Lynn, Miles Mikolas, Brady Singer and Wainwright are the other members of the USA rotation.
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The American team is set to begin exhibition play in Scottsdale, Arizona, on March 8. Their first pool game will take place March 11 at Chase Field against Great Britain.
“I’m frustrated,” Kershaw said. “They should make it easy for guys that want to play to play. Obviously if the team doesn’t want you to play, that’s one thing. But if you have the team’s blessing like I did, it should be easier. So, they should probably look into that in the future.”
Rowan Kavner covers the Dodgers and NL West for FOX Sports. He previously was the Dodgers’ editor of digital and print publications. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
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