We almost witnessed history on Tuesday at Target Field as Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw made his first start of the year against the Minnesota Twins. The veteran was absolutely dealing, throwing seven innings of flawless baseball while striking out 13 batters. The perfect game was intact, but Dave Roberts made the controversial decision to yank Kershaw and go to his bullpen.

There has been serious backlash from both sides after Roberts did such a thing. But, he did make the right call. Here's why.

There's a whole season ahead

We have to remember, this was literally Kershaw's first outing of 2022. He was initially supposed to pitch in the opening series against the Colorado Rockies but for some reason, he was pushed back to Tuesday. It's not known if it's injury-related but you'd have to believe there was something going on. Nonetheless, Clayton Kershaw came out and dealt. But, there are over 150 games left in the year and approximately 25-30 more starts for him if he stays healthy.

Sure, Roberts leaving Kershaw in and giving him the chance to throw the first perfect game since Felix Hernandez in 2012 would be amazing and a treat for all baseball fans, but the Dodgers manager is strictly doing what's best for his ballclub so they can chase a World Series title. Yes, their rotation has other strong pieces like Walker Buehler and Julio Urias, but as we've seen throughout Kershaw's career, he is capable of putting up Cy Young numbers on a yearly basis.

Don't get me wrong, it would've been a historic day for Kershaw and the game of baseball. However, Roberts is simply putting the team first.

Kershaw has been very injury-prone

Clayton Kershaw missed the entire postseason in 21′ because of an elbow injury then also, Spring Training was shortened because of the lockout. That means he had limited innings under his belt heading into Tuesday's start. There is a chance Kershaw was on a pitch limit but even if he wasn't, the Dodgers simply can't afford for him to get injured again. Not only did he sit out the playoffs, but Kershaw was also sidelined for three months earlier last season with the same injury, making only 22 starts in total.

Since the beginning of 2016, Clayton Kershaw has spent eight different stints on the IL. Also, the lefty hasn't pitched over 200 innings in a single campaign since 2015. This was a guy who barely got hurt before and absolutely shoved on a weekly basis while throwing well over 100 pitches every single outing.

We must remember that Kershaw isn't any spring chicken anymore. He is 34-years-old and there's a lot of years of mileage on that left arm. Considering his injury history and the fact he steered clear of elbow surgery last fall, the Dodgers are smart to be careful with Clayton Kershaw. This could be his last season with the team as well after signing just a one-year extension. It would be a shame for his time in LA to end with him on the shelf again.