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Clayton Kershaw reveals it was a tough decision to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers for 2024

Avatar of Reinaldo Oliveros

By Reinaldo Oliveros

11 Feb 2024, 09:06 AM EST

Clayton Kershaw will be a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers for one more season, a difficult decision for him at 35 years old and with 16 seasons in the Major Leagues.

Kershaw suffered an injury late in the season and won’t be able to start pitching right away. Otherwise it will arrive in the middle of the campaign.

“I’ve never really made a big decision in my life,” Kershaw said. “I was drafted by the Dodgers, I married the same girl from high school. I really didn’t have many decisions to make along the way. This was the first offseason where I had to make some decisions, and it wasn’t that easy, but now I feel great.”

Clayton Kershaw’s contract will be for one year and $10 million with an option for a second year. He can also reach $12 million dollars this season if he completes a certain number of innings pitched, according to Fabián Ardaya.

What was Clayton Kershaw’s injury?

Kershaw underwent surgery on the glenohumeral ligaments and capsule in his left shoulder in November. In spring training he is resuming his throwing sessions to recover.

The Dodgers left-hander did not give an exact date of when his return will be, but he did affirm that it will be in the summer between the months of July and August.

For now, Clayton Kershaw will go home to Texas to continue recovering and hopes to join the team in mid-March. to begin its last phase of preparation.

Kershaw went 13-5 with a 2.46 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 24 appearances in 2023.

Something that the left-handed pitcher highlighted is not having to prepare from the first day, but rather he will go little by little to pitch in the last months of the season.

“The freedom of not trying to prepare for a full season is a nice thing,” Kershaw said. “It will just be a sprint when I get back. There’s some comfort in that, honestly. You don’t have to be ready on April 1st. You can be ready whenever it is in the summer, be ready and go throw.”

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