The Dodgers added Blake Snell again Roki Sasaki in circulation that is expected to return Yoshinobu Yamamoto again Tyler Glasnow. Infringed rights Dustin May again Tony Gonsolin both are in line to be ready for Opening Day as well. That’s six active rotation arms, before counting the younger players now pushed into deeper roles: Bobby Miller, Justin Wrobleski, Landon Knack again Ben Casparius among them.
Despite that arsenal, the organization still appears to be open to potentially re-signing the lefty Clayton Kershaw. General manager Brandon Gomes yesterday said the team’s newcomers have not changed the team’s interest in Kershaw (via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). Kershaw, 37 in March, is recovering from surgery to repair a torn meniscus and a second surgery to deal with bone spurs and a broken plate in his foot. He’s working on a throwing system but hasn’t hit the mound yet, according to Gomes.
Throughout the past two seasons, there has been at least a little intrigue as to where the future Hall of Famer might sign. It was a two-team market in those circumstances, and Kershaw is expected to stay in LA or sign a short-term deal with the Rangers, who play closer to his home in Texas. After the Dodgers captured the World Series title last year, Kershaw called himself a “Dodger for life.” He also told The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya shortly after that he planned to return with the Dodgers for an 18th season in 2025.
Given that convergence is a fait accomplithere seems to be no rush to finalize the contract. Kershaw declined the player option back in November. Both sides are expected to make a new plan. From the Dodgers’ point of view, it would be beneficial to hold off on doing anything official until after spring training begins. They are already facing a 40-man roster crunch with upcoming but not yet finalized deals. Tanner Scott again Kirby Yates.
The Dodgers need to open up one 40-man spot for the duo — they’re currently at 39 — and re-signing Kershaw now would mean penalizing a second 40-man roster spot. If he signs after camp opens, however, the Dodgers will be able to accommodate his addition by placing an injured player on 60-day IL. The Dodgers have five pitchers in their 40s and recovering from major surgery. Brusdar Graterol will miss the first half of the season following shoulder surgery. Gavin Stone had shoulder surgery in October and could miss the entire 2025 season. Each of the Ryan River (Aug. 25), Kyle Hurt (July 30) and Emmett Sheehan (May 16) had Tommy John surgery last year. All will likely be included in the 60 day IL at some point.
The aforementioned knee and foot injuries, coupled with Kershaw’s rehab since Nov. 2023 shoulder surgery, combined to limit the three-time Cy Young winner to 30 innings in 2024. He posted a 4.50 ERA with an 18% strikeout rate and a 6.8% walk rate. average, showing strong command but poor swing and miss skills. Kershaw’s fastball sat at 89.9 mph on average last season, and his slider and curveball each saw dips in velo as well (especially the latter).
There’s no telling if he’ll regain his lost velocity, but from 2019-23, Kershaw posted a 2.77 ERA and a 27.5% strikeout rate over 616 1/3 innings even while averaging 90.7 mph on his heater. He doesn’t need his velocity to go back up or near the 93-94 mph peak to be successful. The Dodgers are at the height of the luxury penalty as well, so any dollars given to Kershaw will come with a 110% tax.
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