The best pitcher of this generation is bringing it back one more time.
Before Monday’s 7-3 loss to the New York Mets, pitcher Clayton Kershaw met with the FOX studio crew at Dodger Stadium. Speaking with the likes of David Ortiz, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez, Kershaw announced that he would indeed come back to play in 2025. His season in 2024 had been cut short due to rehabbing from shoulder surgery, as well as having various foot issues.
Taking it a step further, Kershaw — who has a player option for next season — announced that he does want to come back and play his 18th season for the Dodgers. From a player perspective, Kershaw is limited at this point. While his wipeout slider is still elite, the fastball velocity sits in the high 80s/low 90s at this point.
However, Kershaw clearly knows how to pitch. His stuff as a left-handed thrower with good off-speed pitches could work opposite harder-throwing righties such as Tyler Glasnow or Yoshinobu Yamamoto. With the respect Kershaw commands, there’s little chance the Dodgers would want him representing any other franchise. He’ll have a statue outside of Dodger Stadium one day, and he is without a doubt one of the best players in the history of Dodgers baseball.
Walker Buehler is slated to be a free agent at year’s end. There’s a world in which LA would want to bring him back on a short deal. Aside from Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Bobby Miller, and Landon Knack, Glasnow, Dustin May, Emmet Sheehan, and Tony Gonsolin are expected to be available next year. Jack Flaherty is also a free agent and likely will command big money elsewhere.
Unless more starting pitching is added, Kershaw could be counted on to give quality innings a year from now without totally being overloaded or overextended.
