Clayton Kershaw solidified his return for an 18th season with the Los Angeles Dodgers by re-signing in the middle of February, but the future Hall of Famer then made his way back to Dallas.
It was similar to last spring, when Kershaw re-signed with the Dodgers and returned home to spend time with family because the start of his season will be delayed. This time around he’s recovering from left knee and foot surgeries for injuries that ended his 2024 season early.
Kershaw rejoined the Dodgers in camp late this week and offered an encouraging update on his recovery, per Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“I think so,” he said. “It’s not 100 percent yet but it’s getting there. Feels good.”
Kershaw’s self assessment was followed by throwing his first bullpen session of Spring Training on Friday. While that represented Kershaw’s first time getting off the mound during a Dodgers workout, he had been playing catch and doing long toss.
The Dodgers are likely to place Kershaw on the injured list when the season begins, and he presumably will be ready to pitch for the team around May.
Kershaw’s one-year, $7.5 million contract includes incentives that can increase the total value to $16 million. Performance bonuses included are $1 million each for 13, 14, 15, 16 games started; $2.5 million for 30 days on the active roster, $1 million for 60 days, and additional $1 million if he reaches 90 days.
Clayton Kershaw traveling with Dodgers
Given he was in the midst of recovering from left shoulder surgery last year, Kershaw did not join the Dodgers when they went to South Korea for the Seoul Series.
He expressed a hope of traveling with the team to Japan this season, and manager Dave Roberts confirmed that will be case despite Kershaw not being an option to pitch for the Dodgers in the Tokyo Series.
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