Dodgers call up Clayton Kershaw, at the expense of Esteban Loaiza

The Dodgers, as expected, have purchased the contract of minor league pitcher Clayton Kershaw from Double A Jacksonville, clearing space for him on the roster by optioning right-hander Yhency Brazoban to Triple A Las Vegas.

But in a surprising move to make a spot for Kershaw on the 40-man roster, the team also designated veteran right-hander Esteban Loaiza for assignment today, meaning the club could wind up eating much of the rest of the $7 million Loaiza is owed this season as well as a $375,000 buyout for next year if he doesn't accept a demotion to the minor leagues.

Loaiza, who has been on the disabled list since May 4 with a sore shoulder, threw a bullpen session Friday and was expected to make a minor-league rehab start for Triple A Las Vegas on Monday. Now the Dodgers have 10 days to trade the pitcher or release him if he declines an invitation to pitch for them in the minors.

The second-winningest Mexican pitcher in major league history with 126 victories, Loaiza was a 20-game winner for the Chicago White Sox in 2003 when he started for the American League in the All-Star Game. But he spent much of the last three seasons on the disabled list with a variety of ailments.

Claimed by the Dodgers off waivers from Oakland in August, Loaiza was 1-4 with a 8.34 ERA in five starts in 2007. He beat out Chan Ho Park for the fifth spot in the team's rotation this spring but wound up making just three starts before landing on the DL again. And now with Kershaw being called up to start Sunday's game with St. Louis -- and with Park and Hong-Chih Kuo pitching well in long relief and as spot starters -- Loaiza became expendable.

Kershaw, a first-round pick in the 2006 draft and the Dodgers' top minor-league prospect, proved he was ready for the big leagues with a fabulous spring in which he allowed just one run in 14 innings and striking out 19 after being promoted from minor league camp.

The 20-year-old lefty has a mid-90s fastball and a knee-buckling curveball that has already won him notoriety on Internet video sites. In parts of three minor league seasons he struck out 264 batters in 202 1/3 innings and opponents are hitting less than .205 against him.

He's 0-3 with a 2.28 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings this season at Jacksonville, where he's been held to a strict pitch count. In his last start Thursday, he was pulled -- on the Dodgers' orders -- after retiring the side in order in the first, striking out two of the three men he faced.

Brazoban, who pitched in 105 games for the Dodgers in 2004-05, notching 21 saves, has appeared in just 11 games after undergoing two elbow surgeries and one shoulder surgery. He reported to camp overweight and out of shape this spring but worked his way back to the majors with stints in Jacksonville and Las Vegas, where he held opponents to a .167 average in 14 games. He gave up two runs in three innings in his only two appearances for the Dodgers since his May 7 recall.

kevin.baxter@latimes.com