Dodgers News: Clayton Kershaw Announces He Won’t Retire, Will Return for 2025 Season
Los Angeles Dodgers future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw announced on Monday ahead of Game 2 of the National League Championship Series that he’s planning on returning for the 2025 season.
“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 pregame show. “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.”
Here’s the full interview with Kershaw:
Kershaw has a player option with the Dodgers for the 2025 season. If he picks it up, he’ll enter his 18th season in Major League Baseball with the team that drafted him back in 2006.
Kershaw has accomplished everything there is to accomplish in his 17-year career. He’s a 10-time All Star, three-time Cy Young award winner, a Gold Glove, five-time ERA winner, Triple Crown winner, Most Valuable Player, and a World Series champion.
He’s one of the greatest pitchers of all time, and will be a first ballot Hall of Famer when the time comes. However, that time is not now.
Kershaw underwent surgery last offseason to repair the gleno-humeral ligaments and capsule in his left shoulder. He returned in late July, and made seven starts before suffering a toe injury that kept him out for the remainder of the regular season. He was then ruled out for the postseason, too.
Kershaw isn’t ready to hang it up yet, though, and will have an opportunity to continue his legacy in 2025. Kershaw is just 32 strikeouts away from joining the exclusive 3,000-strikeout club. Just 19 pitchers have reached that mark in MLB history.
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
