Clayton Kershaw tries everything, even working with Skechers, to alleviate his toe injury

Sometimes it's just one thing.

Unlike many seasons, Clayton Kershaw's body feels great for the most part right now. His oft-injured back is strong. His shoulder is healed after offseason surgery. And for a 36-year-old with more than 2,700 major league innings under his belt, he believes his arm is in great shape.

But shortly before October, Kershaw is out again – this time because of an injury to the big toe of his left foot.

“It's beyond frustrating,” the Dodgers pitcher said Monday. “Because I really do, my body feels great. Shoulder, back, everything feels really good. It's just that last bit.”

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Kershaw's left big toe – a key factor in his ability as a left-handed pitcher to push the ball off the rubber – has been compromised by a bone spur that flared up during an Aug. 30 start in Arizona.

The pitcher has been on the injured list since then, leaving his late-season status uncertain as he races against time to return to the mound.

“I think I'll be able to do it,” Kershaw said when asked about his confidence in returning to pitch before the end of the regular season. “I don't want to put a percentage number on it, but I feel like – I mean, it's been eight days [since the injury]. There's been a lot of progress in the last eight days, so I feel like I have a limited window of time where I have to at least throw in the bullpen. If it continues like this, I think I'll be good. But I really can't afford any delays.”

Although Kershaw had been struggling with his bone spur for “a couple of years,” manager Dave Roberts said on the night of his injury that his performance was not noticeably affected until his start in Arizona.

After the first inning of that game, Kershaw informed Roberts and the training staff of his discomfort.

When he allowed a home run to his first batter in the second inning – with a 67.4 mph curveball that was one of the slowest of his 17-year career – Roberts took him out of the game.

“If you can’t push off,” Kershaw said, “you can’t do what you need to do.”

Since being placed on the injured list, Kershaw has tried various methods to keep his arm loose while his toe heals.

He's been playing in both tennis shoes and hiking boots on flat ground. He's been trying different “angles of my foot” when throwing. On Monday, he even threw from a portable pitching ramp in the outfield wearing only a sock on his left foot.

“I'm just trying to do everything I can to take the pressure off and keep my arm as good as I can so that when I feel 100 percent again, I don't need as much rehab time,” Kershaw said. “Throwing from the mound, the turf mound, felt a little better today. So I think I'm doing enough to keep my arm in good shape. It's not at the point where I can keep it going for a whole game. But it's getting better.”

These experiments were extended to Kershaw's shoe sponsor Skechers.

He said the shoe manufacturer worked with him to modify his spikes – if not develop entirely new ones on the fly – to minimize the pressure on his toes while throwing.

“Today I had a couple of cleats on and we sanded some of them down to relieve the pressure,” he said. “Skechers is thinking about different ways to make shoes for me, different insoles. They're trying. I don't have anything yet, but today a couple of different orthotics are coming in. So we're trying. It's not for lack of effort.”

Whether this will be enough to get Kershaw back into action before the playoffs begin remains to be seen.

While he hopes to return soon once his toe has recovered enough to properly push off the rubber, he acknowledged Monday that there is “not that much time left” for that process.

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Roberts also made no promises about Kershaw's possible availability and expressed only cautious optimism on Monday, although he called Kershaw's throwing practice a “good step.”

“He's doing everything he can to keep his arm in shape and test the toe,” Roberts said. “I think we're hanging in there and hoping the healing continues with each passing day.”

Kershaw believes that, in a best-case scenario, he could be in the starting lineup “a few times” before the end of the regular season, giving the Dodgers' injury-plagued pitching staff another experienced option for a possible postseason rotation.

“I still have hope that I can be part of the conversation,” Kershaw said. “That's the goal right now.”

Although Kershaw had just a 2-2 record and a 4.50 ERA in seven starts this year and hit a career-low 89.9 mph with his fastball upon returning from offseason shoulder surgery, the Dodgers could still use all the depth they can get right now.

While Yoshinobu Yamamoto will return from his shoulder injury on Tuesday, it is questionable whether Tyler Glasnow and Gavin Stone will be fit in time for October.

“My goal is to be available,” Kershaw said, “and then whatever happens, happens.”

In the meantime, Kershaw has no choice but to wait until his toe feels better – hoping his latest pesky injury doesn't sideline him for the postseason.

“I’m just pushing against [the calendar] as close as possible to at least have a little bit of time in the regular season to be in the starting lineup a couple of times,” he said of his uncertain return timetable. “But yeah, it's definitely going to be close.”

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.