November 11: Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the deal is actually close to $20MM.
November 10: Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers are nearing an agreement on a one-year deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Earlier today, the Dodgers decided against issuing Kershaw a qualifying offer, but it’ll be a moot point anyway now, with the 34-year-old set to return to LA for a 16th season. Mike DiGiovanna adds that the deal will be “close” to the $17MM deal Kershaw signed last winter.
While his days of utter dominance may be behind him, Kershaw turned in another elite season in 2022, throwing 126 1/3 innings of 2.28 ERA ball. For the second-straight season, injuries limited Kershaw to 22 starts, and he made two separate trips to the IL this season with lower back problems. When healthy though, he was very effective posting a 27.8% strikeout rate alongside his usual immaculate walk rates. While his fastball velocity is down considerably since his prime, Kershaw has shown his incredible skill to be able to alter his usage and lean more heavily on his slider to maintain his highly successful numbers as he’s aged.
It’s hard to imagine Kershaw in any other uniform but Dodger blue, and while there’s often been reports of possibly looking to return to his hometown of Dallas and sign for the Rangers, it’s no real surprise to see him staying in LA. By doing so he’ll move closer to ticking off more milestones along his Hall of Fame career. His 12 pitching wins in 2022 take him to 197 in his career, so he’ll certainly notch up win number 200 next season. While pitching wins are largely irrelevant when assessing a player’s ability, it is a notable milestone and one to take a tremendous amount of pride in, and Kershaw will be just the fourth active pitcher to reach 200 behind Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke and Max Scherzer. He’s also 193 strikeouts shy of 3,000. That mark is less likely to be reached in 2023, given Kershaw hasn’t reached 190 in a season since posting 202 in 2017.
The milestones are just reward for a player who has been a mainstay atop some dominant Dodger rotations decade or so. Drafted seventh overall out of high school in 2006, Kershaw would make his Dodgers debut as a 20-year-old in 2008. Just a year later Kershaw would begin a staggering run of dominance in which he’d post ten-straight seasons with a sub-3 ERA. In fact, his rookie year was the only year he posted an ERA over four, and there were only two other seasons where it was over three. It was between 2011-17 that Kershaw was at his absolute best though. During that period he won three Cy Young awards (and never finished outside the top-five), one MVP, led the league in ERA in five times, and posted one 300 strikeout campaign.
The rotation was set to be an area of focus for the Dodgers this winter as Tyler Anderson, Andrew Heaney and Kershaw all headed for free agency, with Anderson the only one to receive a qualifying offer. Kershaw will slot back in alongside Walker Buehler, Julio Urias and Tony Gonsolin to form the core of a very strong rotation. Dustin May, Ryan Pepiot are both internal candidates to fill out the rotation, but it’s more likely the Dodgers seek another arm to solidify the backend. That decision may well be made for them in fact, as there’s at least a decent chance that Anderson opts to accept the qualifying offer and return to the Dodgers on a one year, $19.65MM deal.
Yes that was very much anticipated.
Glad this is happening quickly, get tired of hearing how he would go to the non competitive rangers for a year
There is always next year for the Rangers!
Kershaw will never pitch for another team, kind of like Verlander, he’s going to stick with the Astros so way some how.
Verlander has pitched 3 and a half years for Houston. Kershaw has pitched his whole 16 year career for the Dodgers. Their loyalties to their respective clubs is not even close.
I can’t imagine him in any other uniform.
But but he’s from Texas
But he’s never worn a Texas uniform.
SF is nowhere near hometown to Judge. He’s from Linden, which is East of Stockton. He’s from closer to Oakland than he is SF.
Well then I think we should all start counting the days until he signs with the A’s
All the Gap stores in CA signed over to Judge should do it.
Didn’t you hear? Judge had a procedure and thus no longer represents The Gap.
Far removed from utter dominance. 2.28 ERA. Must suck to be Kershaw
Fun fact: The A’s drafted him out of high school, but he chose college.
That’s heartbreaking as an A’s fan myself.
He grew up a Giants fan. What does distance from the city have to do with anything?
Article says hometown team. It most certainly is not his hometown team.
What’s that like 10 miles diffrence?
Linden to SF is 102 miles. Do you call the Yankees your hometown team if you’re from Philadelphia, which is closer to NY than Linden is to SF?
This is not ‘Nam. There are rules here.
i live up m california…and rich people DO NOT come here. they leave here. California is for the destitute.
Get another act. Comedy is not for you.
I’m originally a New York native and lived 130 miles away in northeast Pennsylvania for many years (Scranton area) and was shocked to see a large number of Yankees, Phillies, Mets, Pirates, Giants, Eagles, Steelers, and Jets fans all co-habitating there. I was also annoyed to see I was still considered to be within territory for New york teams when I assumed I’d be able to watch all the games on MLB.TV. You’re oversimplifying regional fandom by quite a bit. 102 miles isn’t even a great distance when you consider the proximity of most midwestern fans to their preferred teams. They all loved Penn State though.
I’m in Bakersfield. The Dodgers are my hometown team.
Atta way
I can’t believe he’s only 34. Is he close to any milestones? (wins, strikeouts, etc.)
Man if only these articles used hyper links when mentioning a players name that you can click on and view their career statistics. Lol. Come on dude. I’ll make it easy for you. He is 2 wins from 200 and less than 200 strikeouts always from 3k for his career.
Actually 197 wins, three for 200. But your general point is correct.
Kershaw is a top notch pitcher not just a HOF in waiting
200 wins is the new 300
Who cares about pitcher wins? That “stat” should have been retired years ago.
No it shouldn’t. It’s the point of the game.
It also tells you nothing about whether they won because of him or despite him.
Im willing to say 99% of Kershaws wins were directly because of him.
Jacob deGrom is 82-57 in his career. So a slightly above average starter right? Probably accepts that QO they just extended him right?
Never once said win loss record was the end be all stat. No stat is. It is a collective understanding of everything that makes a good evaluation but no pitcher wins 200-300 games in a career by luck.
Agreed. W-L stats aren’t very informative.
But you simply don’t get to 200 without being a damn good pitcher.
Some unlucky great ones out there who don’t get to that number.
Au contraire it is very to be not very good and still get to 200 wins. Just ask Kenny Rogers and Earl Whitehill. All you have to do is be around for a while.
With all those complete games Earl had, I assume he had super run support…. ??
4.36 ERA so probably
He is close to 200 wins and 3,000 strike outs.
He should be pushing 250 wins but god knows how many no decisions or losses he has while giving up only a run or two during his prime.
You aren’t wrong but that also applies to others in history as well.
I’m thinking Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton types – any dominant era pitcher they spent 3 or more years on poor teams. Nolan Ryan – his manager said, he was only a .500 pitcher so he traded him!
He is 3 wins away from 200 and 193 K’s away from 3,000.
What an awesome story that would be if he could throw in my feelings to strike out 200 batteries this year, I hate the Dodgers but I’ve always liked him
It’s a misprint, right? He’s got to be closing in on 40.
Clip, Kersh was at least 23 already when they signed him out of the Dominican.
Hey, I heard Nightengale report he and Pujols went to elementary school together….. got to be true.
You win “post of the day” Clip. Congrats!!!
Kinda a no brainer!
This will really push TEX to go full steam ahead for deGrom.
Rodon is option #1
I’m content with this.
Zero surprise. Kershaw should only be a Dodger
Out of running for Judge? If they get Correa to replace Turner, I think that puts Judge out of the running for the Dodgers. SF (home town), Mets, Yanks, Red Sox, and dark horses like Padres and Blue Jays seem to be my picks of teams he signs with. It’ll give Blue Jays a big name to align up in the batting order with Vlady Jr. Blue Jays making a move like that will have Yankees and Red Sox getting more aggressive and overpaying. Let’s face it, AL East has been lackluster in FA signings since pre-pandemic. It’s about time they dip into the market again.
LA with their market and tv deal aren’t out of the running for anybody. Unless they say or said they are dropping under the tax they are a strong option.
We don’t want that cheater Correa on our team.
So, you’re willing to let personal feelings effect the progress of the team should Turner leave? I mean there are trade possibilities as well if the Dodgers want to cough up top tier prospects for a solid SS that can fill Turners void. There aren’t many great options through trade or FA. Pick your poison.
and here’s where the “Judge’s home town is Linden, which is East of Stockton and nowhere near SF. The A’s are more hometown than Giants.” belongs. Favorite team? Fine. Hometown? No.
Wait, aren’t the A’s in Las Vegas?
A’s are heading to Vegas man. Oakland is losing all major sports teams. Maybe a minor league team can move in and deal with that stadium and it’s condition. A’s are leaving town
Nice to see a one-team career player. Far too rare these days.
LOL why though?
Why what?
Why not?
Why would you want your favorite players to leave and play somewhere else? I would rather have competitive teams with players I like then one year of a championship with a bunch of players I care nothing about.
Kershasw is nothing but a Dodger and shouldn’t play for any other team!
This from a Cubs fan!
Love Kershaw. He should retire in Dodgers blue.
Urias. Kershaw, Gonsolin, May and….De Grom? Rodon? Bueller in Sept? Bueller?
That rotation’s ceiling would be ridiculous with deGrom, but it already has a pretty high injury risk with Kershaw, May, and eventually Buehler. I would aim for durability if I were them.
What pitchers are really durable these days?
Insert a guy like Mitch Keller into that rotation. Middle of the order pitcher but young enough to use in the back end of the rotation until he really comes into his own. Guy like him or someone similar that is young but has MLB experience with potential to solidify that rotation against a heavy hitting NL West. No pun intended here
Alcantara. Six cg this season. unheard of these days.
I wouldn’t count Anderson out.
Agreed. I could certainly see him being in play. I think Anderson gets 2 years this time around.
2 easy if he doesn’t take the qo. As thirsty as teams are for pitching 2 is the minimum.
I would point out how hilariously wrong you spelled Buehler, but Simpton Hampton can’t spell his name right either, and he’s an elite! Heck, he still thinks Mitch White is on the Dodgers. What have we come to as a society
He spelled it right. Just wasn’t anything hilarious about it. Maybe a tiny smile and I seen what you did there head nod.
He corrected it after I pointed it out. It was originally Buehlre
For 17 it’s a steal
Fans like to say a guy is taking a home discount all the time but with this guy he really does.
With performance bonuses, as last year.
Don’t take a discount. You’re Kershaw, greatest Dodger ever, ever. You can get the money f@%keyes got in New York easily. Don’t settle for Tyler “most disrespectful player in the game” (by your own words) Anderson money.
FyI Buehler is out next season and Mitch White was traded last July.
Will they stop pushing “Kershaw to the Rangers” now? Please? We’re begging…
It’s on hold until next November.
This puts another hole in the “Texas is a real contender” narrative we’ve been hearing for the last two years. The media created it, then gave it oxygen.
Did I miss a memo? Mitch White is in Toronto last I heard.
They are doing it right.
Isn’t Mitch White on the Blue Jays now? I thought they picked him up late last season.
Yep he is. Give Anderson 3 years. He’s good.
If they free Bauer I guess it changes things?
I didn’t realize Bauer was in prison. What did I miss?
Hahaha… “Kershaw is signing with the Rangers because they just hired Bruce Bochy as their manager…” Lol…
Kershaw started a great MLB career at age 20. So will Andrew Painter.
And once again they pay him less than the QO. So the “doing him a favor by declining to extend the QO” thing was just creative spin. The only person the Dodgers are doing a favor by not extending the QO is themselves.
Or they’re showing him respect and giving him time to decide his future under no restrictions just like they did last year. In 2019 at 30 y.o., Kershaw could’ve easily demanded a Strasburg/Cole contract but instead signed for only 3 years. He’s never been the player to demand top dollars.
First of all, declining to extend a player a QO isn’t “respectful.” Secondly, it isn’t “giving him time to decide his future under no restrictions” either. He doesn’t have to accept the QO. If he declines it he is free to take as long as he wants to sign with whomever he wants for as much money as they will throw at him. Third of all, like I said, they are paying him less than the QO value in 2022. The “not QOing him out respect” angle only makes sense if he signs for more money than the QO, whether that be with the Dodgers or someone else.
Would you agree that, as a free agent, having a draft pick attached to him does have a market effect had he declined a Q.O.?
Or, you could argue, in exchange for not being forced into a quick decision with the QO deadline, Kershaw left ~1M on the table last year. In that light, it’s not a hard mutual exchange to imagine.
This year the QO rose but he’s signing a similar deal. Yes the gap widened between his deal and the QO, but the “basis gap” was just 1M
I just think it’s pretty cool that a simple handshake is still worth something in this day and age.
@YankeesBleacherCreature I missed the part where that’s the Dodgers’ problem.
@BeforeMcCourt Because it has to be repeated 100 times, extending a player a qualifying offer isn’t “forcing” them into any decision. Declining the QO is always an option.
Actually, no. The $17M last year was the guarantee. He also earned $2M in performance bonuses, which could have amounted to more than twice that much if fully achieved. The indications are for a similar contract this year.
So it turns out that cynicism is not a substitute for reality.
Bobby Miller is another SP with excellent potential and close to ready for the MLB club. Some control issues not withstanding.
Great to have CK back. FYI, Mitch White was traded last season and not in the current Dodger plans. Maybe the Jays will release him, but that’s unlikely.
I appreciate the Dodgers and Kershaw coming to a quick resolution on a deal this off season so we’re spared hearing about Kershaw to the Rangers, which is never going to happen. He’s a career Dodger. A legacy. A HOFer. He’s not leaving the Dodgers.
At least we didn’t get signing with the Yankees this year.
Amen to that Rob. Pretty much the antithesis of Judge’s situation.
Haha Gee there must be a lot of STUNNED Rangers fans out there….He was surely going there….with the short commute to home and all..
I’m not a Dodger fan, but I would not want Clayton to be in any other uniform. Kershaw is one of those guys who should spend his career playing for just one team.
I still can’t get over the fact that over his long career, he’s only lost 10 games or more just one time. That’s unreal.
17 million come on Clayton get more then that
Texas dropped out of the running after trading for Odorizzi.
Much rather have this guy for 1/18 than DeGrom at 3/130
Crazy that $20M is still a discount for his services even at this stage of his career. He’d still be justified in asking for $30M or more a season, but if he’s only 22 starts per season out of 30-34 on average (let’s call it 32) I suppose he’s actually getting paid exactly what he’s worth at this point in his career….
Plus the performance bonuses that no doubt will be part of the deal. Last year he made $19M but could have made $22.5 if the bonuses had maxed out. Something similar but a little higher seems like it’s in the cards this year.
Last season? Kershaw never struck me as the type to announce it beforehand and have a ‘farewell tour’ I see him taking the Posey route where his teammates will know though.
If Heyman says it there is a good chance this story is bulls&&t.
He deserves to retire a Dodger
Buehler is out for the year, it would be a mistake to count him or Blake Treinen (despite both of them netting their $8million+) as options for 2023.
Dodgers need to load up on depth options (again) and then unlike last season- actually add one at the deadline if a bunch of question marks are abound.
Bringing Kershaw back was a no-brainer even if he is only good for 20-25 starts these days. That brings us to about 9 options and we need to get to 12. I don’t count Andre Jackson or Michael Grove as a serious option (11 and 12) but perhaps 1 can break out and get some starts like last season.
Two guys we definitely need to keep an eye on are out top 2 pitching prospects in Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone, the later who was knocking on the door at AAA Oklahoma City last season. Both are in the high minors now and have elite stuff, just not sure Miller will be ready or he will wind up more of a bullpen option for next season; but Stone I am definitely excited about.
1. LHP Julio Urias- who should win the Cy Young (but won’t)
2. RHP Dustin May- I am expecting huge things from him now with a full spring to get ready
3. LHP Clayton Kershaw
4. RHP Tony Gonsolin- can he even come close to repeating his 2022 season?
5. OPEN
6. OPEN
7. RHP Gavin Stone- I would not be surprised at all if he is the breakout SP for the Dodgers next season
8. RHP Ryan Pepiot- Ceiling isnt as high as some of our other top pitching prospects but he could be a back end rotation guy
9. OPEN
10. RHP Bobby Miller- not ready to start but has the best stuff among out prospects
11. RHP Michael Grove- Would need a really good Spring to even be considered in the mix
12. RHP Andre Jackson- Meh, if he even sticks on 40 he is likely headed to bullpen
XX. RHP Walker Buehler- icing if he makes it back late next season, but do not plan on it
Dodgers need three in free-agency in my opinion. Tyler Anderson on a 3-year $40 million deal would be an ok start (or him accepting his QO) and then finding another RH who can get you some innings as depth.(Walker, Bassit, Tallion etc). I am probably not entertaining any of the big three in DeGrom, Verlander or Rodon, although the price on Carlos would be the big question. Then they need (1) reclamation project like Duffy was this season (with hopefully better results)….
Getting paid for past performances