Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw Officially Returning For 18th Season
Clayton Kershaw isn’t ready to say goodbye to baseball quite yet.
Tuesday marked the first day in 2025 that media members could attend the Los Angeles Dodgers’ spring training facility, as pitchers and catchers officially reported to camp in Arizona. Upon arriving, they saw a familiar face walking around the practice fields – Kershaw, as documented by The Los Angeles Times’ Dylan Hernández.
Shortly after that post began circulating, ESPN’s Alden González reported he and the Dodgers had agreed to a new contract for the 2025 season. The terms of his deal have yet to be revealed publicly as the 36-year-old still needs to pass his physical with the club.
Once finalized, Los Angeles must create an open spot on its 40-man roster for Kershaw, who’s officially returning for his 18th major league season.
It’s no surprise that Kershaw, a 10-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner, decided to rejoin the only franchise he’s ever known following last season’s World Series celebration. He vowed to return during the organization’s championship parade last November, saying, “I’ll be back, somehow. I don’t care. I’ll be back.”
The future Hall of Famer became a free agent over the winter after declining a $10-million player option for 2025. Most assumed this was likely a paper transaction to provide the franchise additional financial flexibility during the off-season. And, as it turns out, that’s exactly what it was.
Despite returning for the 2025 campaign, it remains unclear when Kershaw will pitch for the Dodgers this season. He only made seven starts last year following off-season shoulder surgery, plagued by injuries in his left knee and foot.
Less than a week after the Dodgers’ parade, the franchise icon underwent surgery to address a ruptured plantar plate in his left foot and a torn meniscus in his left knee. He also revealed he suffered from bone spurs in his left big toe during the season.
Kershaw is only in the early stages of a throwing progression, as general manager Brandon Gomes announced last month. The veteran southpaw will begin this season on the injured list and will likely slow play his return to a major-league mound in the coming months.
There’s no need to rush the often-injured starter after the Dodgers added Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki to their already-stacked rotation this winter, joining Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May – all of whom missed significant time due to injury in 2024.
Los Angeles could also have two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani back in its starting staff as early as May after he didn’t pitch last season following his second major elbow surgery. The club will likely feature a six-man rotation for much of this season, affording everyone extra rest to guard against future injuries.
In addition to Kershaw, the Dodgers brought back another familiar face earlier this week, re-signing utility player Kiké Hernández to a one-year deal worth $6.5 million. It’ll be his third straight campaign with the franchise after arriving via trade from the Boston Red Sox in 2023.
Whenever Kershaw takes the mound in ‘25, the former NL MVP will have a chance at history, sitting 32 strikeouts shy of hitting 3,000 for his career. If he reaches that historic mark, he’ll become just the 20th pitcher in the sport’s history to accomplish that feat.
Max Scherzer (3,407) and Justin Verlander (3,416) are the only active pitchers from that list with 3,000 career punchouts.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Arturo Pardavila III. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.