PHOENIX — Clayton Kershaw, the longest-tenured Los Angeles Dodger, will officially be back for an 18th season. The franchise icon has finalized a return he forecasted months ago by reporting to spring training on Tuesday. His official signing is pending a physical, league sources told The Athletic.
Kershaw’s decision to rejoin the reigning World Series champions came with less uncertainty than recent offseasons. At the parade last November, the 36-year-old vowed to return despite turning down his $5 million player option for 2025.
“I’ll be back, somehow,” Kershaw said then. “I don’t care. I’ll be back.”
When he actually gets back on the mound at Dodger Stadium is a separate story. In 2024, Kershaw made just seven starts in his comeback from left shoulder surgery as he was hindered by a bothersome left big toe and a ruptured plantar plate in that foot. He underwent surgery less than a week after the parade to address the foot and to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.
Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said during this month’s “Dodgerfest” that Kershaw had started the early stages of a throwing progression. But the Dodgers don’t need to rush their longtime ace.
They are coming off a winter in which they added two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, along with Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki to bolster their rotation. Tyler Glasnow is expected to be good to go to start the season after missing last October with an elbow issue. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is gearing up for his second second in the majors. Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin are coming off major elbow surgeries. And Shohei Ohtani could be back in the Dodgers’ rotation as soon as May after his second elbow ligament reconstruction.
When Kershaw does pitch in a game, he will be nearing history. He is just 32 strikeouts away from being the 20th pitcher in baseball history to record 3,000 for his career. It would be the latest flourish in what will be a Hall of Fame career for the three-time Cy Young winner and two-time World Series champion.
(Top photo of Clayton Kershaw: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today)
