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Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES — Injured Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw plans to return for another season in 2025, he said Monday.
“I had some tough luck with my toe this year, but I want to make use of this surgery,” Kershaw told Fox before Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets. “I don’t want to have surgery and then shut it down. So I’m going to come back next year and give it a go. See how it goes.
“My shoulder and elbow, everything, my arm feels great.”
The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner and former NL MVP will not appear for the Dodgers this postseason because of troublesome bone spurs in his left big toe. Kershaw, a 10-time All-Star, appeared in only seven games during the regular season, going 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA after undergoing shoulder surgery after the 2023 season.
The surgery delayed Kershaw’s 2024 debut until July 25 and played a key role in his decision to return for an 18th season.
Kershaw, who turns 37 in March, ranks second on the Dodgers’ all-time wins list with 212 and is the club’s all-time leader with 2,968 strikeouts — just 32 shy of 3,000.
His contract includes a player option for 2025 at a base value of $5 million and includes a number of incentives that, if achieved, could net Kershaw as much as an additional $20 million.