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Clayton Kershaw has pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers for his entire 17-year career, and that's not about to change. The three-time Cy Young winner has agreed to a contract with the Dodgers, pending a physical, ESPN's Alden Gonzalez reported on Tuesday.
Gonzalez added that Kershaw is currently at the Dodgers' Spring Training facility in Glendale, Arizona and playing catch. Terms of the contract are unknown at this time and he turned down a $5 million player option on his contract after last season.
When the deal is official, the Dodgers will need to make a move to place him on their 40-man roster. As the team underwent a slew of injuries last year, there are still some 60-day injured list candidates who can move without the Dodgers having to designate anyone for assignment.
Los Angeles is coming off another World Series championship and, with a roster somehow even more stacked than last year, hardly needed to take a chance on Kershaw. But he's given his whole career to the Dodgers and, though he's about to enter his age 37 season, he's two-years removed from pitching to a 2.46 ERA in 2023.
Kershaw only pitched in seven games in 2024 thanks to a series of injuries. His numbers weren't great in that time, but in only 30 innings, that's not very telling. After the season, he underwent foot and knee surgeries and has started a throwing program to work his way back.
If all goes well, Kershaw will join a starting pitching staff that is as talented as it is deep. The Dodgers acquired Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki and two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell in the offseason to add to a staff that already includes Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Shohei Ohtani could eventually join the rotation as well, as can Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May.
A crowded rotation is a good problem for manager Dave Roberts to have — one that the other 29 managers in baseball would love. These things tend to sort themselves out, however, and with Spring Training barely underway, there's plenty of time to assign roles.