Inside The Dodgers

Dodgers News: Clayton Kershaw Unsure About His Playing Future Next Season

The Dodgers would obviously love to have him back in Dodger Blue next year.

Noah Camras

It'll be another offseason of uncertainty for Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers this year. It feels like that's the case just about every year.

Last season, Dodger fans were unsure if Kershaw was going to come back to play for the Dodgers, or if he'd potentially move to Texas to play for his hometown Rangers. 

Kershaw elected to stay in Southern California, and boy did that work out for the Dodgers.

In 19 games this season, Kershaw has looked like his old self again, with a 9-3 record, a 2.39 ERA and 117 strikeouts. He was also named an All-Star for the ninth time in his career, and was named the game's starting pitcher for the first time in his storied career, with the game taking place at Dodger Stadium. Talk about perfection.

But as Kershaw enters the offseason of what will be his age-35 season, the three-time Cy Young award winner doesn't yet know what next year will hold.

"As of now, I haven’t really thought a whole lot about next year," Kershaw said. "But I do think I’m leaning towards playing over not, for sure. I hold the right to change my mind, but as of today, I think that I’ve got at least one more run."

That's incredible news for L.A. fans as it'll be hard to picture a Dodgers team without Kershaw. 

Kershaw began his career with the Dodgers all the way back in 2008, when he donned that special No. 54 jersey.

Kershaw has pitched for the Dodgers every single year since then, and has been the unquestioned ace of their staff for a majority of them.

Any indication that Kershaw will be back in Dodger Blue next year is a good one, but he did leave the door open on what would cause him to call it quits.

"I don’t want to be hurt," Kershaw said. “It’s just a horrible feeling. You just feel useless. You feel like you’re in the way. I don’t want to deal with that anymore. So if I felt like I was going to get hurt all the time, I don’t want to do that anymore."

It'll be interesting to see what Kershaw decides to do, and how much this postseason affects that decision.

But one thing is for sure: If Clayton Kershaw decides to come back for another year as a member of the Dodgers, they will have a spot for him on that roster.

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Noah Camras
NOAH CAMRAS

Noah graduated from USC in 2022 with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in Sports Media Studies. He is the lead editor for Inside the Dodgers. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, and grew up a fan of all LA sports. 

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