Three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw agrees to return to Dodgers: reports

Clayton Kershaw is widely considered one of the greatest Major League Baseball players of this era. 

But, after 16 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers there was some discussion on whether Kershaw would pitch somewhere other than Los Angeles in 2024 or if the ten-time All-Star would walk away from the game completely.

On Tuesday, Kershaw appeared to ease some of the concerns surrounding his plans for the immediate future. The 35-year-old left-hander agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Dodgers, MLB Network Insider Joel Sherman and others reported. The New York Post first reported the deal.

The terms of the deal were not made public. The southpaw is expected to undergo a physical at the team’s spring training facility in Arizona later this week.

But, Kershaw is not expected to be ready to pitch once the regular season begins in April as he continues to recover from offseason shoulder surgery.

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The Dodgers bolstered their pitching rotation this season by adding Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Walker Buehler will likely take the mound at some point in the season once he fully recovers from his second Tommy John surgery.

Los Angeles also made arguably the biggest offseason splash by landing superstar pitcher and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani. But, the two-way star underwent elbow surgery that will keep him off the pitching mound in 2024.

Kershaw, the 2014 NL MVP, has overcome a series of injuries throughout his prolific career. But, the injuries have taken a toll in recent years, resulting in a decline in Kershaw’s velocity. Nevertheless, the star pitcher has remained an exceedingly effective pitcher when he takes the mound.

Kershaw struggled in his one postseason appearance for the Dodgers in 2023. He was charged with six runs and only managed to record one out in the National League Division Series game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Kershaw has started in 32 postseason games, with a 13-13 record. He will likely surpass the 3,000 career strikeout mark at some point in the 2024 season as he currently has recorded 2,944 strikeouts.

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