Los Angeles Dodgers Expect Legendary Ace Clayton Kershaw to Return in 2025

Clayton Kershaw has struggled with multiple injuries over the past few seasons, but his shoulder reportedly feels good enough to give it another go with the Los Angeles Dodgers next year.

Nov 1, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) lifts the World Series Championship Trophy during the team celebration at Dodger Stadium. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Clayton Kershaw is expected to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers next season, the New York Post's Jon Heyman reported Thursday.

Per Heyman, Kershaw's shoulder "feels fine" after it plagued him through most of 2023 and 2024. He underwent two surgeries earlier this offseason – one to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and another to fix a ruptured plantar plate and bone spurs in his left big toe – both of which he is still recovering from.

The 10-time All-Star declined his $10 million player option in November, making him a free agent.

Kershaw has spent his entire 17-year big league career with the Dodgers, who selected the lefty in the first round of the 2006 MLB Draft. He will make that 18 years in 2025, if he does not retire.

The 2024 season was a rough one for Kershaw, who posted career lows across the board. In just seven starts, he went 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA, 1.500 WHIP, 7.2 strikeouts per nine innings and a -0.3 WAR. Most of that damage was dealt in his final two appearances of the season in August, before which he had a 2.63 ERA, 1.250 WHIP and 0.3 WAR.

Kershaw was not able to take the mound in the playoffs, but he still claimed his second career World Series ring after the Dodgers bested the New York Yankees in five games.

For his career, Kershaw is 212-94 with a 2.50 ERA, 1.010 WHIP and a 76.5 WAR. He currently has 2,968 strikeouts, so a healthy return for 2025 would get him to 3,000.

It isn't as if Kershaw's prime is that far in his rear-view mirror, considering he made the All-Star Game in both 2022 and 2023. Between those two seasons, Kershaw went 25-8 with a 2.37 ERA, 1.004 WHIP, 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings and a 7.3 WAR in 46 starts.

The Dodgers lost Walker Buehler to free agency this week, and Jack Flaherty is expected to sign elsewhere as well. Two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell signed with Los Angeles last month, though, and Japanese ace Roki Sasaki remains an option thanks to his low price tag.

Tyler Glasnow, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin and Shohei Ohtani are all slated to return to the rotation after missing time with injuries in 2024, so Kershaw wouldn't have too heavy of a load placed on his shoulders if he wants to run it back in 2025.

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