The worst-kept secret of the winter is finally public knowledge.
Clayton Kershaw has signed for another season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner, who masqueraded as a free agent since his team won the 2024 World Series, will be starting his 18th season with the team but first with such intense competition for berths in the starting rotation.
Kershaw, who turns 37 next month, has a 212-94 record and microscopic 2.50 earned run average. He's been a National League All-Star 10 times and the league leader in ERA five times.
Just 32 strikeouts shy of 3,000 - a milestone for any pitcher - Kershaw has pitched exclusively for the Dodgers. He reached the majors in 2008, twice reaching 21 wins in a season while averaging 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
The 6-4 southpaw led the NL in strikeouts three times. In addition, he has 15 complete-game shutouts, tops among active pitchers. One of those shutouts was his only no-hitter. It came in 2014, when he was named National League Most Valuable Player after the season.
Kershaw has become increasingly brittle in recent years, however, and has not pitched a complete game since 2017.
Because of his litany of injuries, especially in recent seasons, Kershaw will need to pass a physical before his deal becomes official.
The 36-year-old Texan pitched only seven times last season because of a toe injury and torn meniscus. In those starts, he posted a 4.50 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 30 innings pitched. He has had disabling injuries to his back, foot, and knee, often requiring surgical repair.
Despite his status as a franchise icon, Kershaw may have to fight for space in an overcrowded Los Angeles rotation.
Manager Dave Roberts has an abundance of riches with 11 potential starters, including Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki - all veterans of the Japanese majors - plus Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Gavin Stone, Emmett Sheehan, Bobby Miller, and Kershaw. Also knocking on the door are Landon Knack and Michael Grove, who combined for 14 starts last summer. Walker Buehler and Jack Flaherty already signed elsewhere.
Though he did not pitch during the 2024 World Series, which the Dodgers won in five games over the Yankees, Kershaw is a veteran of post-season play. He has a 13-13 record and 449 ERA over 32 starts in playoff and Fall Classic games. He got his only World Series ring in 2020.
According to Baseball Reference, the lanky lefty's peak salary was $35,571,429, earned in 2018. As he aged, though, his salary dropped in direct proportion to his availability and performance. Kershaw was paid $10,000,000 for the 2024 season.
Widely considered a future Hall of Famer, Kershaw has won the Roberto Clemente Award and The Triple Crown of pitching, symbolizing league leadership in wins, strikeouts, and ERA.
The first pitcher to lead the majors in earned run average for four consecutive seasons (2011-14), Kershaw's 2.50 career mark is the best among starters of the Live Ball Era, dating back to 1920 (minimum 1,000 innings pitched). He has led the National League in wins and strikeouts three times each.
Signing Kershaw could be the feather in the cap for the Dodgers, by far the busiest ballclub in the free-agent market. The team has spent more than $1.5 billion in free agency over the past two years, pushing its current projected payroll to a record $383 million before the latest signing, according to Roster Resource. That is $50 million more than the second-ranked New York Mets pay their players.
The team has signed Michael Conforto, Tommy Edman, Enrique Hernandez, Teoscar Hernandez, Hyeseong Kim, Roki Sasaki, Tanner Scott, Blake Snell, Blake Treinen, Kirby Yates, and Kershaw while trading Gavin Lux and Ryan Brasier. Pitchers Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler, both important post-season performers, signed elsewhere.
Terms of the Kershaw signing were not immediately announced pending his physical.