Clayton Kershaw is back. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Kershaw agreed to a new contract on Tuesday. The new contract will be for one year and has a player option for 2025, according to The Athletic.
Kershaw will be returning for a 17th season in the majors, all with the Dodgers. He chose to return to LA instead of going to his home team, the Texas Rangers. Kershaw is one of the best pitchers in the game. He’s a ten-time All-Star, has been named NL MVP, is a three-time CY Young Award winner, and won a World Series in 2020. Kershaw is 210-92 in his career with a 2.48 ERA, 2,944 strikeouts, and 669 walks. In the playoffs, he was 13-13 with a 4.49 ERA with 213 strikeouts.
While Kershaw is a great pitcher, injuries have begun to take their toll on him. He averaged 32 starts per year from 2009 to 2015. Since 2016, he’s averaged just 24 starts a year but has maintained a 2.55 ERA. Kershaw will be out for at least half the season this year as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery.
Kershaw’s decision to return means the Dodgers are now the favorites to win the World Series. Now I know what you’re thinking: won’t the Dodgers struggle with Kershaw missing at least half the season? The Dodgers will be fine without Kershaw because they have Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow. The Dodgers have a lot of star power on their team and will be hard to beat with or without Kershaw.
If the Dodgers don’t win the World Series this year, then the season will be a failure.
(Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)