New Details Emerge in Clayton Kershaw's Contract With Dodgers

The 2024 season may not be Kershaw's last.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will have their left-handed ace for not only this upcoming season, but potentially next season as well.

Dodgers veteran and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw has a player option in his contract for the 2025 season, meaning he could return for his 17th and 18th seasons with the Dodgers in this deal. The Athletic's Andy McCullough reported the news of the contract option.

"His new contract with the Dodgers includes a player option for 2025, a person briefed on the negotiations said. That clause would allow Kershaw, who is rehabbing from major shoulder surgery and won’t return until later this summer, a chance to spend an additional full season with the team and share the starting rotation with Shohei Ohtani."

On Tuesday, it was reported that Kershaw was returning to the Dodgers for the 2024 season. That deal will be finalized later this week. 

Kershaw won't return to the mound until late in the season. The 35-year-old left-hander underwent surgery in November to repair the capsule and gleno-humeral ligaments in his shoulder. In his initial announcement, Kershaw said he was hoping to return at some point in the summer.

When Kersahw is right, he is still among the best pitchers in the league. In the 2023 regular season, Kershaw posted a 2.46 ERA in 131.2 innings and earned 13 wins, his most since 2019.

Kershaw will for sure be back for the 2024 season with the Dodgers, but it might not be his last after all.