Dodgers GM Discusses Clayton Kershaw’s Future in LA Following Latest Additions
The Los Angeles Dodgers have already made two major additions to their starting rotation this offseason in Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki. The team is also expecting both Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow to return early next season, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto still holding his spot in the rotation.
On top of those five players, the Dodgers have plenty of options for a No. 6 starter including Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Landon Knack, and Bobby Miller.
Still, despite the team’s abundance of pitchers, general manager Brandon Gomes said Wednesday that L.A. still wants to re-sign Clayton Kershaw this offseason.
Gomes said that Kershaw was among the players who submitted a video to Sasaki as part of the team’s recruiting pitch to sign Sasaki.
He also provided an update on Kershaw’s injury rehab after undergoing foot and knee surgeries this offseason, saying Kershaw has progressed in his throwing program but is not yet throwing off a mound.
Kershaw emphatically called himself a “Dodger for life” during the team’s World Series parade. Just weeks earlier, after announcing he was going to come back for the 2025 season, he said it was going to be with the Dodgers.
“Mentally, I feel great. I had shoulder surgery last offseason, and my shoulder and elbow, everything, my arm, feels great,” Kershaw said on the Fox Sports pregame show during the National League Championship Series. “Obviously, I had some tough luck with my foot this year. But I want to make use of this surgery. I don’t want to have surgery and shut it down. So I’m gonna come back next year and give it a go and see how it goes.”
When later asked to clarify if he planned on testing free agency, Kershaw said: “I’m going to be a Dodger.”
While that has been the plan all along, the multiple rotation additions the Dodgers made seemed to potentially block a path for Kershaw to return. The Dodgers don’t see it that way, though.
Kershaw, who made just seven appearances last year while dealing with multiple injuries, is expected to miss the beginning of the 2025 season. Kershaw is likely a 60-day injured list candidate, meaning the team can sign and stash him, and hope he makes an impact at some point midway through the season.
Kershaw enters the 2025 season just 32 strikeouts away from 3,000 in his career. Only 19 pitchers have reached that milestone in their MLB careers. Kershaw will look to become the 20th as a member of the only team he’s ever known next season.
Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
