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15:20: The financial aspects of the agreement are not yet known, but Andy McCullough of The Athletic Relays that there is a player option for 2025.
11:26 am: The Dodgers agreed to a new contract with the free agent left-hander Clayton Kershaw, according to Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He will have a physical exam this Thursday. Kershaw, a client of Excel Sports Management, underwent shoulder surgery in November and is expected to be sidelined for the second half of the season. Thursday is the first day the Dodgers can place a player directly on the 60-day injured list, so it seems likely that he will head straight to the 60-day disabled list (where he will likely be joined by other injured pitchers as Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May).
Assuming he can suit up sometime in the second half, the 2024 season will be Kershaw’s 17th pitch for the Dodgers, who selected him with the seventh overall pick in the 2006 draft. Injuries have begun to take their toll on Kershaw, who hasn’t reached 30 starts in a season since 2015, but the quality of his results remains largely constant. From 2009 to 2015, Kershaw averaged 32 starts per year, won four consecutive ERA titles and took home three Cy Young Awards. Since 2016, he has averaged just 24 starts per season out of 162 games, but maintained a brilliant 2.55 ERA, including marks under 2.50 in three of the last four seasons.
Kershaw clearly wasn’t throwing at 100% for much of the 2023 season. A shoulder strain landed Kershaw on the disabled list in July, and manager Dave Roberts candidly acknowledged in September that he wasn’t throwing at his full strength. . Los Angeles limited Kershaw to five innings per start in all but one of his return from the disabled list (a 5 1/3-inning outing in his final appearance of the season). Along the way, Kershaw’s average fastball fell to the lowest levels of his career; He averaged just 89.4 mph on his fastball in his return, including an average of just 88.7 mph in his last four starts.
Despite the decrease in speed, Kershaw remained quite effective. In eight post-IL starts, he posted an impeccable 2.23 ERA. His 22.2% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate were a far cry from his pre-injury levels (27.7%, 6.3%), but Kershaw looked to make the most of what he had. to offer on a given day. He didn’t allow more than three runs in any of those last eight appearances and, in fact, held opponents to one or zero runs in six of them. However, the D-backs ambushed him for six runs in the first inning of his only NLDS start, ending his season on a low point.
It’s still unclear when Kershaw might return to the Dodgers’ staff, although they will presumably provide an update when they announce his deal and discuss it with the media. A second-half return for Kershaw will provide top-level insurance for a Dodgers rotation that is filled with uncertainty. right handed Yoshinobu Yamamoto will adapt to a new culture and a new league in its debut campaign this year. right handed Walker Buhler He is in his first full season after Tommy John surgery. Left handed James Paxton It is a perennial injury risk. Right-handed young people Bobby Miller, Emmett Sheehan, Gavin Stone and Kyle injured I haven’t pitched full seasons in the major leagues.
As already noted, Kershaw won’t be the Dodgers’ only potential addition in the second half. The aforementioned May underwent a Tommy John revision and flexor tendon repair in early July, but could return for the stretch run. Gonsolin, who underwent Tommy John surgery in late August, feels he has a better chance of returning, but could do so in a bullpen capacity if his rehab goes as smoothly as possible.
The Dodgers are set to pay the luxury tax for the third straight season and are already in the final luxury tax penalty level. As such, any dollars committed to Kershaw will be taxed at a rate of 110%. That apparently won’t be a deterrent as they welcome the future Hall of Famer back for a 17th season.
In 2,712 2/3 innings over his major league career, Kershaw owns a 210-92 record, a 2.48 ERA, a 27.6% strikeout rate, and a 6.3% walk rate. He is a ten-time All-Star with five National League ERA titles, three Cy Young Awards and one National League Most Valuable Player Award under his belt.