Kershaw throws bullpen, Ferguson seen as long reliever

I took a break from school at Arizona State to head down the road to Camelback Ranch. Here’s the latest news from Monday.

Clayton Kershaw throws bullpen

For the first time since February 20, Clayton Kershaw threw a bullpen. He threw a 20-pitch session, with all the pitches being fastballs. He’ll throw another one soon, where he’ll incorporate some breaking pitches.

Kershaw and pitching coach Rick Honeycutt spoke with reporters following the bullpen session, here are some takeaways.

Plan for Caleb Ferguson

Ferguson soared through the minor-leagues and ended up being one of the better relievers for the Dodgers in 2018. After a rough couple of starts to begin his career, Ferguson was moved to the bullpen, a job in which he thrived.

In 26 games, Ferguson had an ERA of 2.35. He had 47 strikeouts in 38 ¹⁄₃ innings of work. Ultimately, the Dodgers would like to try and work Ferguson into the starting rotation, but that looks difficult at this time.

Either the Dodgers can keep him in their crowded bullpen, or they can send him to Oklahoma City where he can eat up innings as a starter.

“Trying to get some length to him,” Dave Roberts said when asked what the plan was for him. “I think that if we can build him up to three innings, that’s where we want to be. He can do a lot of different things. We see him as a potential starter. Obviously what he did for us last year as a reliever has a lot of value. He’s just another one of those guys who gives a lot of flexibility.”

Other notable stuff

• Corey Seager will possibly play in the field in a minor league game later this week
• Walker Buehler will throw to hitters on Wednesday
• Russell Martin was taking grounders at shortstop. He’s played three games at short in his career, all coming in 2018

The Dodgers had an extra player at camp today.

Here are the starting lineups for today. The game will not be televised, however it will be on AM 570 and a webcast is available.