MLB Insider Expects Future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw to Be 'Dodger For Life'

Free agent lefty Clayton Kershaw, who is recovering from toe and knee surgeries, apparently doesn't have a long list of suitors beyond the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Oct 30, 2024; New York, USA, LAD; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) celebrates after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in Game 5 to win the 2024 World Series at New York. / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Coming off their second World Series title in five years, the Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly expect Clayton Kershaw to give it another go in 2025.

The feeling is so strong, in fact, that nobody else has even bothered giving the future Hall of Fame southpaw a call.

MLB Network's Jon Morosi went on "Hot Stove" on Friday and broke down the respective markets for three veteran aces still lingering in free agency: Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Kershaw. While Verlander and Scherzer have multiple teams interested in their services, Morosi noted that the same could not be said for Kershaw.

"I think we all believe that, assuming he comes back – and again, we expect that he will – he will be a Dodger for life," Morosi said. "There is no open market about different teams calling, really, for Clayton Kershaw. No. 22 is gonna finish his career with the Dodgers."

Morosi noted that Kershaw did not have knee and toe surgeries in the fall to "just stay home" and that the 36-year-old went under the knife with the intent of returning to the mound. He is also 14 months removed from surgery on his shoulder, which seems to have fully healed.

Kershaw declined his $10 million player option for 2025 back in November, making him a free agent for the fourth consecutive offseason. The Dodgers have since let Walker Buehler and Jack Flaherty walk in free agency, all while signing two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell and continuing to pursue Japanese ace Roki Sasaki.

.@jonmorosi shares some insight into Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw's outlook heading into 2025 on #MLBNHotStove. https://t.co/79kc3uKJuc pic.twitter.com/1lCwvkQDvg

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 4, 2025

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 was riding high with 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, leaving him just 32 shy of becoming the 20th player ever to reach 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.

Kershaw won't exactly have a heavy load placed upon his shoulders in 2025 if he does indeed return, either. Tyler Glasnow, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin and Shohei Ohtani are all slated to rejoin the rotation after dealing with injuries in 2024, while Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are among the early favorites to compete for NL Cy Young.

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