Clayton Kershaw is officially back.
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Thursday that they have signed pitcher Clayton Kershaw to a one-year, $7.5 million deal. Though Kershaw, the longest-tenured member of the Dodgers, has weighed retirement in recent years, but is not ready to hang it up yet.
As he returns for his 18th MLB season, Kershaw opened up on returning so that he can go out on a better note than he has the past couple seasons. Kershaw returned in July last season after undergoing shoulder surgery, but only made seven starts before suffering a bone spur in his left toe. Kershaw said after the season that he also tore his meniscus, and underwent both foot and knee surgery.
The season prior, Kershaw put in a forgettable performance during the Dodgers' loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series, allowing six earned runs in less than a full inning before he was pulled.
By coming back, Kershaw looks to go out on his own terms—and hopefully without having to go through more rehab.
"I hope this is the last time I have to rehab—I'm kind of done with that—but at the same time, I don't want that to be the reason that I stop playing," Kershaw said Thursday, per ESPN's Alden Gonzalez.
"Hopefully I can walk out on my own terms, whenever that is. But it just didn't feel like it was the right time, even though we won. Being on the shelf for that wasn't the way that I had scripted it out. Still super thankful to be a part of it last year and get to see everything, but I want to be out there when it happens."
The two-time World Series champion, 10-time All-Star and former NL MVP doesn't necessarily have much left to prove, but he is 32 strikeouts away from joining the 19 other pitchers in the 3,000 strikeouts club. Perhaps more importantly, he now has the chance to close out one of the greatest pitching careers on a note that does justice to him and his legacy.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw Shares Honest Reason He Opted for Return to Baseball in 2025.
