Clayton Kershaw Returns to Dodgers for 17th Season on One-Year Deal
Retirement can wait, as left-handed starter Clayton Kershaw has reportedly agreed to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 2024 season, embarking on a 17th major league campaign.
The New York Post’s Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman first reported that the Dodgers had re-signed Kershaw, who’s expected to take his physical at the club’s spring training facility in Glendale, Ari., on Thursday.
Kershaw, a 10-time All-Star who’ll turn 36 next month, will sign a one-year contract with a player option for 2025, per The Athletic.
The 35-year-old lefty will begin next season on the injured list after undergoing left shoulder surgery last November. At a minimum, he isn’t expected to return to game action until the second half of the schedule.
Shoulder soreness plagued Kershaw throughout last season, causing him to miss all of July before returning in August. But he wasn’t the same down the stretch, failing to reach 90 mph on the radar gun during the final month, causing the club to place him on a restricted workload.
Injuries have been a recurring issue for the future Hall-of-Fame hurler over the last several seasons, leading to IL stints each year since 2016 that have included elbow, forearm, shoulder, hips, biceps and back ailments.
Those setbacks have forced Kershaw to seriously contemplate his future during the previous three off-seasons, including this winter. However, following discussions with his family, he’s opted to sign one-year contracts each time, just as he did for 2024.
Los Angeles’ starting rotation should be in good hands while Kershaw recovers, with new additions Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and James Paxton filling three-fifths of the staff. Walker Buehler, recovering from Tommy John surgery, should join that trio shortly after the season opener.
Until then, youngster Bobby Miller will aim to build off last season’s strong rookie performance, while Emmet Sheehan, Michael Grove and Gavin Stone enter camp competing for the No. 5 spot in the rotation.
The Dodgers, as well as the San Diego Padres, can begin placing players on the 60-day IL – creating necessary 40-man roster space – Thursday, a few days before everyone else, as they’re reporting for spring training earlier due to their regular-season opener in South Korea.
At which point, Kershaw will be among the players added to that list, likely joining injured pitchers Tony Gonsolin (TJ surgery), Dustin May (flexor tendon surgery) and Nick Frasso (shoulder surgery).
With Shohei Ohtani unable to pitch in 2024 due to elbow surgery, he and Kershaw won’t be able to share the same rotation until 2025. That is, of course, assuming the 2014 National League MVP exercises his player option.
Before injuries set in, the Dallas, Texas, native was considered among the most dominating starters in baseball, finishing within the top three of NL Cy Young voting each season from 2011-15, winning three himself. He won the pitching triple crown in ‘11, leading the league in wins (21), strikeouts (248) and ERA (2.28).
Across 16 MLB campaigns, Kershaw has compiled 2,712.2 innings over 425 career games (422 starts), recording 210 wins with a 2.48 ERA and 2,944 punchouts, worth 75.8 fWAR. Despite a precarious playoff track record, he exercised his demons in 2020, securing his first World Series title.
No other Dodgers pitcher holds a higher fWAR rating than Kershaw, who’s also recorded the most strikeouts. Only Don Sutton has won more games than him in franchise history, trailing by 23 victories – a milestone he could accomplish if he stays relatively healthy through 2025.
Overcoming his constant battle with injuries, Kershaw has remained effective over the last two seasons, posting a combined 25-8 record, 2.37 ERA and 3.31 FIP with 274 strikeouts across 258.0 innings in 46 starts.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.