After pitching through a left shoulder injury for nearly half of the 2023 season, Clayton Kershaw underwent surgery to repair the glenohumeral ligaments and capsule on November 3. The procedure was completed by Los Angeles Dodgers team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache.
At the time of revealing the operation, Kershaw made it clear he intended to continue pitching in 2024. However, that is not expected to come until some time after the All-Star break due to the lengthy recovery and rehab process.
Kershaw remains among the group of Dodgers free agents this season, which isn’t much of a surprise considering he doesn’t face a need to prepare for Opening Day next month.
While there again was speculation he could sign with the Texas Rangers, Kershaw decided to re-sign with the Dodgers, according to Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post:
The Dodgers and Kershaw are in agreement @JonHeyman and I can report. The physical is on Thursday. https://t.co/lqvqtRwdS0
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) February 6, 2024
Kershaw was a free agent for a third consecutive offseason and has now signed a one-year contract with the Dodgers each instance. He explained that was going to be the case moving forward rather than a multi-year deal because of the flexibility it offered to mull his future after each season.
Despite dealing with left shoulder trouble last year, Kershaw still finished 13-5 with a 2.46 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 24 starts.
Dodgers wanted to re-sign Clayton Kershaw
At various points this offseason, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, general manager Brandon Gomes and manager Dave Roberts have each made it clear they hoped to see Kershaw back with the team.
That was reiterated by Gomes and Roberts at DodgerFest over the weekend. Roberts said he had recently exchanged text messages with Kershaw and hoped the longtime ace would finish his career with the Dodgers.
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