Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw tells 'MLB on FOX' pregame crew he's playing in 2025

Clayton Kershaw won’t take the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers again this year, regardless of how much further the team goes in the postseason. But he plans to return in 2025 and make the most of his surgically repaired shoulder, he told the MLB on FOX pregame show before Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.

“Mentally, I feel great,” Kershaw said in response to a question from David Ortiz. “I had shoulder surgery last offseason, and my shoulder, elbow, everything — my arm feels great. Obviously, I had some tough luck with my foot this year, but I want to make use of this surgery. I don’t want to have surgery and shut it down. So I’m gonna come back next year and give it a go and see how it goes.”

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Kershaw underwent shoulder surgery soon after the Dodgers’ elimination in the 2023 National League Division Series at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The recovery from that operation sidelined him until he made his season debut on July 25. He only made seven starts, however, exiting his last one on Aug. 30 in the second inning due to a toe injury. 

Kershaw attempted to rehab the injury in time to rejoin the Dodgers’ shorthanded starting rotation in the playoffs, but failed to do so and was ruled out for the rest of 2024.

“Clayton has done everything he can to keep this thing moving forward and giving himself a chance to participate in the postseason,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters then. “But where he’s at right now, physically, the foot, the toe just is not cooperating. It’s actually getting worse.”

The 36-year-old Kershaw had a 4.50 ERA over those seven starts, easily the fewest number of starts and highest ERA the 10-time All-Star has registered in his career.

Despite his absence from the playoffs, the Dodgers’ pitching staff tied an MLB postseason record with 33 scoreless innings with Kershaw watching from the dugout every step of the way. That includes a dominant 9-0 win over the New York Mets in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday behind seven scoreless innings from Jack Flaherty, an L.A.-area native who grew up watching Kershaw.

“Just the collective effort, that’s been the coolest thing to see,” Kershaw said. “It’s been everybody. Obviously having ‘Flare’ throw last night, getting to go through seven innings, it really sets up our game today for a bullpen game, obviously. You’ve got to give our bullpen a ton of credit, what they were able to do starting with that bullpen game in San Diego [in Game 4 of the NLDS] all the way through to now. You can say so much about every guy, man. It’s been awesome to watch.”

Kershaw, both personally and as the longest-tenured member of the Dodgers, has been no stranger to playoff disappointment over the years. L.A. looked headed down a similar path, down 2-1 in the NLDS against the rival San Diego Padres. But that’s when their pitching staff’s scoreless streak started, allowing the Dodgers to rattle off three consecutive wins to not only advance to the NLCS but also take the early series lead over the Mets.

That prompted Derek Jeter to ask Kershaw what made this Dodgers team different from past years.

“It’s hard to compare years,” Kershaw said. “I feel like we’ve had great teams in the past, and no disrespect to different teams that I’ve played on in the past, too. But this year, this group of guys, it just feels really resilient. There’s no quit, whether we’re down 6-0, whether we’re up 6-0. It’s that same fight every single inning. It’s been a lot of fun to be a part of, especially taking a step back and being on the sidelines watching this group of guys, you can really tell there’s a heartbeat there. It’s kind of one collective.”

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