Clayton Kershaw made his highly-anticipated return to the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation on Thursday, just shy of eight months since undergoing left shoulder surgery.
“It’s Kershaw Day!” manager Dave Roberts extolled before the midday start at Dodger Stadium.
Kershaw took the mound against the San Francisco Giants despite only being built up to four innings and having made just three starts while on rehab assignment. The first was June 19 with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, which was followed by the veteran being shutdown from throwing for a brief period because of lingering left shoulder soreness.
Kershaw then joined Triple-A Oklahoma City for a start on July 13 and pitched for the Dodgers’ top Minor League affiliate again six days later.
He wound up completing just four innings against the Giants, but held them to two runs while collecting six strikeouts. It was the most strikeouts Kershaw had in a single start since finishing with nine against the Cincinnati Reds on June 8, 2023.
“It meant a lot,” Kershaw said after his 2024 debut. “Having surgery to the rehab process, to be able to get back out there at Dodger Stadium is something I thought about for a long time. It meant a lot. Ellen and the kids were here too, and they were so excited.
“There’s a lot of people in here that spent a lot of time with me to help me get back, and people back home as well helped. This was really cool that a lot people cared so much. And then for me personally to go back out and pitch here at Dodger Stadium, not that I ever did before, but I’m not going to take that for granted.
“It was fun. Definitely some things to get better at, but overall it was a good day and I can build off of it.”
Kershaw made his return in custom Skechers cleats that featured drawings created by his four children. Being able to spend a significant amount of time with family this year was one of the positives Kershaw recently highlighted with an otherwise at-times challenging and drawn-out recovery process.
Clayton Kershaw sets Dodgers record
By taking the mound on Thursday afternoon, Clayton Kershaw became the first player in Dodgers franchise history to pitch in 17 seasons.
“It kind of makes me feel old a little bit,” he said of the accomplishment. “But at the same time, I don’t take for granted what this organization means to a lot of people in Los Angeles and all over the world. For me to be here that long, it’s a huge honor.”
Kershaw’s contract details
With one start in the books and two full months of the 2024 regular season remaining, Kershaw is in position to make progress toward various incentives in his deal with the Dodgers.
Kershaw’s contract, which includes a player option for 2025, also allows for the chance to earn $1 million for six starts or relief appearances this year, $1.5 million each for seven, eight and nine, and $2 million for 10. Those are obtainable so long as a start or relief appearance is at least three innings.
Kershaw holds a $5 million player option for 2025, but if he is healthy at the end of this season, it can increase by $15 million based on the same criteria of starts or relief appearances: $2 million for six, $3 million each for seven, eight and nine, and $4 million for 10.
Thus, the total potential value of Kershaw’s Dodgers contract is $37.5 million over two years.
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