Injured Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw could resume throwing this week

A couple of minutes before 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Clayton Kershaw walked onto the outfield grass of Dodger Stadium. He conducted core exercises with Dodgers strength and conditioning coach Brandon McDaniel. He ran laps along the warning track. He chatted with former teammate Dan Haren, now a member of Arizona’s front office.

It looked like an average workout between starts for Kershaw. Except it was not. Kershaw was only two days removed from an examination of his left shoulder and a stint on the disabled list caused by biceps tendinitis. The date of his return to the Dodgers was unclear.

The MRI conducted by team doctor Neal ElAttrache “came back pretty clean,” with no evidence of structural damage to his shoulder. Manager Dave Roberts indicated Kershaw could resume playing catch this week. The Dodgers are optimistic Kershaw may require only 10 days off.

“Hopefully,” Kershaw said, “it won’t be too long.”

There are no guarantees. Kershaw has now landed on the disabled list in each of the last three seasons. He dealt with a herniated disk in his lower back in 2016 and suffered a strained back muscle in 2017. This is the first arm injury of his career. Before Sunday, Kershaw explained, he had never even undergone a shoulder MRI.

At 30, in his 11th season as a Dodger, Kershaw rejected the suggestion that his latest problem was caused by his workload. He has thrown 2,101 innings between the regular season and the postseason in his career. He has often pitched on short rest in the playoffs.

Kershaw suggested the arm issue might have occurred because of his mechanics. Kershaw has recently been working on tweaking problems in his delivery with pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, Roberts said. Kershaw planned to intensify those discussions during his time away.

“I’ve joked about being old, but I don’t think it has anything to do with deterioration,” Kershaw said. “I just think there’s some things I can do to get better. Physically, I’ve felt great this whole year. The back, everything, has felt really good. So I’m not worried about deteriorating.”

In seven starts this season, Kershaw’s fastball velocity sat at 91.1 mph, according to FanGraphs. His career average fastball velocity is 93.1 mph. For a pitcher entering his second decade in the major leagues, losing velocity is natural. A pitcher could compound the dilemma by compensating in his delivery in an attempt to reclaim the lost speed.

Roberts downplayed that suggestion.

“Pitchers deal with that all the time,” Roberts said. “I don’t know if that’s a byproduct of trying to create more [velocity] or what it is. I know that through texts yesterday and through the training staff today, he’s in a really good state, and feeling pretty optimistic.”

Turner, Forsythe could return next week

Justin Turner (fractured wrist) took batting practice again Tuesday. He faced a high-velocity pitching machine as a test of his readiness. He could be activated for next week’s road series against Miami. Logan Forsythe (shoulder fatigue) could also be ready by the time the Dodgers face the Marlins.

Short hops

The Dodgers optioned pitcher Brock Stewart to triple-A Oklahoma City in order to activate Rich Hill for Tuesday’s game.

andy.mccullough@latimes.com

Twitter: @McCulloughTimes