Some retirement speculation swirled around Clayton Kershaw at the end of last season, when the veteran southpaw was entering free agency and also dealing with forearm/elbow injuries that kept him from pitching during the Dodgers’ postseason run. However, when he returned to full health, Kershaw ended all thoughts of retirement, and ended up returning to Los Angeles on a one-year contract worth $17MM in guaranteed money.
As Kershaw approaches free agency once again, health again might be the primary factor as to whether or not he’ll return for a 16th Major League season. For now, Kershaw is feeling good, and told The Los Angeles Times’ Dylan Hernandez that “I do think I’m leaning towards playing over not, for sure….I hold the right to change my mind, but as of today, I think that I’ve got at least one more run.”
The 34-year-old is still a dominant force on the mound, posting a 2.42 ERA over 115 1/3 innings this season. Still among the league’s best at limiting free passes (4.4% walk rate) and barrels (4.2% barrel rate), Kershaw also has excellent strikeout and hard-hit ball rates, not to mention a 47.7% grounder rate. Perhaps the only noteworthy number is that innings total, as Kershaw has missed about two months due to hip inflammation and lower-back pain.
“At the end of the day, pitching is tough on my back. There’s no way around that,” Kershaw told Hernandez. “I can manage it, definitely, and maybe there’s a time where it can last for eight months of the year and be good. I still think that’s in there.”
While serious in their own right, back and hip problems aren’t as potentially devastating to Kershaw’s future as an arm injury. In that sense, Kershaw has fewer concerns than he did last offseason, and he noted that he was “thankful for the lockout” in terms of giving him some extra time to rehab and consider his next step. Kershaw was known to have only been looking at two teams in free agency, and chose a return to the Dodgers over signing with his hometown Rangers.
Kershaw didn’t give any hints about his plans for the winter, saying that his focus is just on the Dodgers and the playoffs. While any number of clubs would love to add a pitcher of Kershaw’s caliber to their rotation, it would stand to reason that Los Angles and Texas will be his top two (and probably only) options for another contract. The Dodgers are certainly closer to perpetual contention than the Rangers, though if L.A. can win another World Series this fall, Kershaw might find it an intriguing challenge to head to Arlington and help the Rangers try to win their first championship.
I think he should play he’s showing no signs of declining besides injuries being a factor but give him one more year possibly 2.
Playing 121.2 and then 115.1 innings is a sign of decline. What I would hate to see is those ERAs be in the 4s or 5s. He has been too much fun to watch pitch to want to see that.
Sure, give him one or two years, but you can only count on him to be healthy 2/3 of the time so only pay him 2/3 of what he’s worth and see if he still wants to come back.
He’s gotta get to 200 wins and 3,000 strike outs. Such a great pitcher.
If he retires today, he is first ballot HOF.
No doubt but it would be very weird looking back say 10 or 20 years from now and not seeing Kershaw in those two clubs.
Those milestones are about to fall VERY quickly. Or else no pitchers who started playing in 2012 or later will ever make the HOF ever again.
Easily within reach of 3K strike outs if he is healthy for two more seasons, 2.49 career ERA over 2750 IPs, almost a strike out an inning for his career, nice.
Dodger for life.
Has to go back to LAD. And, after seeing what Verlander & Scherzer received – why not? He’s performing really well & his best pitch (arguably) doesn’t require velo.
+ Verlander is coming to Dodgers next season TO PLAY WITH Kershaw! No shot Kersh walks away from LA, he’s going to be a 1-teamer 1st ballot HOF.
Wow that sounds good actually
I knew it haha. He has maybe even 2-4 years left in the tank. And if he does well, he might even push it further…In his mind he might think 2 or 3 more WS titles is possible..Which is indeed possible…
@yc & trumbo i hope clay comes back one more year with lad for 2 reasons, 1st is he is so close to being a hof one more good year puts him there (same as wanio), 2nd is i wanna see him hit them milestones as a dodger, just like wanio has been the face of our staff for years good and bad, so has clay, and the way i see it if clay wants to play another year and try and go out on top, then it should be with lad. clay is a relic like wanio or molina, spent there hof career with one team it would be a shame to watch him end his career with someone else.
I think one more year for sure. He’s coming back. He will be so fired up if they win it all again…
Agreed Brodie. Hope you’re doing well, buddy. You had to be stoked seeing Pujols jack 699 & 700 in LA on the same night. The *only* thing that would’ve made that better is if he was in St Louis…
@yc i’m doing well, and yes i was stoked seeing al hit 99&00 and yes it would of been better if he did in busch in front of the red bird faithful but i digress. anyhow when it comes to clay and wanio, if both come back next year and have an avg. or better season both of them are hof’er imo. for what it’s worth, wanio, clay, ver, & mad max, all came up about the same time and them 4 where the most devastating pitchers of there era, with wanio being the “worst of the bunch”. imo wanio, clay, ver, max and grenkie all deserve to be in the hof only because them guys were the best in there generation, we just lucked out as fans to see 5 hof pitchers all play in the same time span.
If he just says to himself “I’ll retire when I have a full un-injured season where my ERA is over 4.00” and stays with it, he’s probably retiring at age 48 lol
Thats what I’m talkin about!!!!!!!! Wooooo!!!!! Kersh for 10 more years baby haha
Hope he goes to the Rangers and helps his home town team.
lol
Why would he join a team that makes the playoffs every year for one that’s eliminated in August?
Don’t be that guy. Lean the other way, Clayton and save yourself the embarrassment. Let people who want to remember you, remember you well and not this broken down old pitcher you’ve become. It’s over
lol yeah a 2.42 ERA is an absolute embarrassment.
It’s decent, but he’s still borderline HOF.
He’s a first ballot hall of farmer if he retired today.
Clayton Kershaw is 1st ballot HOF and SliderWithCheese has absolutely no clue about ball.
Dude stop.. that’s such a weak take. Border line? Lmao
Bs
I have higher standards than my colleagues at BBWAA, and I do not take bribes. As long as I’m a member he will not get in first ballot
Then your ballot is corrupt then, and you do not deserve to have a vote.
Grow up, fn 2 year old brain over here….
Slider leads the league in bad takes. Best not indulge him.
This broken down pitcher has a minimum $50M in future salaries. But yea, pass up that money and save the “embarrassment.”
Pitty you think 50 million is a lot to leave on the table. Chump change in my world
EVERYONE MUTE SLIDER 2022
I can’t believe they are STILL pushing the “Kershaw to the Rangers” BS.
You beat me to it. The man has never given even the slightest hint that he wants to play out his career anywhere else but LA.
Exactly. And I’m not even a Dodgers fan.
@blue & legendary, imho it would be a shame if clay doesn’t end his career as a lad. for all the nay sayers he still has it and would love to see him pitch one more year with my birds lol. in all seriousness clay needs to just play out his end with the dodgers and be the last of the old guard to start and finish with one team.
If anything Kershaw and Verlander are about to team up and run the league in 2023-25.
And no. It’s not “DiFfErEnT tHiS tImE !”
Kershaw on the Rangers would be sweet, but not easy to leave the winning ways of the LA Dodgers.
If he plays, he’ll be a Dodger. Stop with the Rangers nonsense.
I agree. And, with what LAD saw happen to their rotation this year, common sense dictates they wouldn’t mind overstocking by a couple arms again.
The reality is that there are very few players that get to play nearly an entire career for one team, obviously. Gardy is in that category and he could’ve come back this year for a different team, but declined because it wasn’t the Yankees.
The difference is Kershaw is a HOFer, who has played his entire career for one team. Logic dictates that he won’t shift gears now. It’s mutually beneficial for the Dodgers to retain him should he continue. Oh, and there’s that little nugget hanging out there too – ya know, that LAD is competing every single season for a World Series and TX is…well, who knows how far off.
Can we not add speculation that he would go to the Rangers. Clayton is the most competitive player I have ever seen. No way no how he would leave the most competitive team in baseball for the last decade, the only team Clayton has played for in his career, to play a non competitive final season for the Rangers. Once he wants to be home every night he will retire.
Kershaw seems like he’d much rather be a 1-team guy than to go back to Texas.
Rangers’ ears have perked up.
He needs to retire. He’ll go down with back injuries again if he’s back next year.
This gets a big Bronx cheer, and I’m not even from the Bronx.
But then with his back, leaning isn’t really a choice is it?
Don’t count the Pirates out of Kershaw sweepstakes, they just combed the waiver wire for a former yankee…who knows kershaw may like to don the yellow and black and bring back the “we are family”.
I always found it a little odd how a future Hall of Famer as young as Kershaw who is still performing at the absolute top of his game has always been pondering retirement every single year, but it’s Kersh’s decision, and he knows his body more than anyone. regardless I’m glad he’s going to run it back for at least another year
His back — sometimes you look and think what damage is it doing to him and what will he be like in his 40s / 50s / 60s is he destroying himself now for a millions when he probably feels he has enough money. look a Posey, he just did not want a retirement where he would need a walker.
I think he heads back to home and plays out final year with rangers to be close to his family and puts something into contract about away games (to lessen them) and if LAD wins WS – retirement is more likely
Yup, based off his statement about his back, I’m thinking quality of life after baseball has to be the focus
Hardly every single year, only recently. And if you listen to what he actually says (few seem to bother for some reason) he will play for as long as he feels he’s contributing to the team, and that team is the Dodgers. This is the message, loud and clear.
I sincerely hope he keeps playing as long as he has an ERA under 4 every year. Great guy to have in the game.
Quicker he retires, the quicker he heads to the HOF. He pitched well this season but in limited innings. Hoping he retires while we are still seeing his A game when he is on the mound
He doesn’t need to retire at all. Especially for performance. His metrics are still excellent. If he’s healthy. Which I hope he stays that way. I love the Phillies. But I also love baseball and Clayton Kershaw pitching is good for baseball. So yeah I hope he goes another one or even more if he’s healthy and wants to do it. Which frankly he’s earned the choice. Cooperstown isn’t going anywhere and he’ll be welcomed in as soon as his 5 year wait is up first ballot.
What an insane take – why is he in a rush to get into the HOF to begin with? Kershaw might play until he’s 45 if he wants.
@outinleftfield – you ok buddy? Get knocked in the head lately?
I wouldn’t expect his body to hold up anywhere close to that long. The back issue is chronic and he’ll be dealing with it, probably getting more troublesome, the more he plays. He isn’t going to do a Fernando Valenzuela and try to hang onto the game long after his body quits.
121 IP. 115 IP. Those are his last 2 seasons. His last full season was 2015. He will have to retire soon and I hope its before his innings are even further eroded and his ERA starts to plummet.
The Rangers need at least 4 Kershaw’s to even sniff the playoffs, let alone contend for a championship. Kershaw makes no difference there. I think he’ll be back as a Dodger and become only the 3rd Pitcher to win 200 games in franchise history
Such a legend, goodness.
I don’t believe it’s ever been above 3
Kersh’s ERA? It was above 3.0, just last year. Only for the second time.
Too bad there wasn’t a device or thingy to look up stats
Only at 34 years of age and a lefty that doesn’t really throw super hard, he’s got another 5 years in the tank I bet.
He will be back. He wants that 200th win. AF will sign him with the knowledge that he will only be available for 15 to 20 starts.
I’ve never known Kershaw to be the kind of a player who chases stats. He’s a competitor. He strives for excellence and he likes to win. We can also take him on his word on playing next year. If when this season is over he feels like he’s in shape to contribute for another year, that’s what he’ll do, and the Dodgers will bring him back,
Last season he said he prides himself on taking the ball every 5th game and when he felt he couldn’t do that he would retire. If 2023 is anything like 2022 and 2021 in terms of injuries curtailing his ability to pitch every 5th game, that could definitely be his last season.
Money and stats. The goal of all athletes.
gonna love seeing the HYPOCRISIES again. dodger haters have been calling him garbage and a choke artist for years, but as soon as their team had a chance to add him… all of a sudden, they called him elite and want him in their city.
They’ve been talking crap all season, but in December, they’ll be in the comments section demanding their team sign him again lol
Boo garbage choke artist
And I’m leaning towards a Gordita but that’ll be a game time decision