LA Dodgers symbol Clayton Kershaw returns to the ‘Dodger Blue’.
ESPN and MLB Network reported on Monday (Korea time) that the Los Angeles Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw have reached an agreement on salary negotiations. This is the biggest news story in the Major League. The annual salary is not disclosed yet.꽁머니지급
The deal was concluded three days after manager Dave Roberts and general manager Brandon Gomes made a series of remarks on the possibility of returning at the fan festival on the 4th.
Kershaw, who will turn 36 in March, underwent shoulder surgery in November last year and will be able to return this summer.
Kershaw’s negotiating pattern has been repeated as he became a free agent at the same time as his shoulder surgery during the off-season. Things were different in the last off-season. He was at a crossroads of retirement due to the worst pitching performance in the Division Series. However, the club decided to return to the Dodgers and the media examined responses from both sides, saying, “Is it the Texas Rangers or Dodgers where you are from?” There was no response from Kershaw. It is impossible to cover a news report unless a superstar is present in public during the off-season in the U.S.
After Kershaw’s three-year annual salary of 93 million dollars expired in 2021, he extended his one-year contract as an FA every year. He signed a 17-million-dollar contract in 2022 and a 20-million-dollar contract in 2023. It is estimated to be around 20 million dollars for a one-year contract in 2024. However, Dodgers’ actual salary will decrease as it returns to the market in the second half of this year.
Since it is not on the 40-man roster but an FA contract, the actual salary is different from the official announcement. The same applies to Brandon Woodruff (30), who became a non-tender and became an FA with the Milwaukee Brewers. Woodruff is also returning from shoulder surgery.
Kershaw is a Dodgers pitcher. A graduate of Dallas Highland Park High School in 2006, the team drafted him as the seventh overall in the MLB Draft. He received 2.3 million dollars in signing bonus. At that time, the No. 1 was right-hander Luke Hocevarda, who was drafted by the Kansas City Royals. The agent was Scott Boras.
Among the players drafted in 2006, Kershaw, Evan Longoria (No. 3) and Max Scherzer (No. 11) have been active so far. Longoria has yet to find a nest as an FA. Texas Rangers’ Scherzer (39) will return in the second half of this season due to back disc surgery. Scherzer was drafted when he was a junior at Missouri University, and is older than Kershaw.
Kershaw made his MLB debut on May 28, 2008, against the St. Louis Cardinals. He debuted much earlier than expected as a high school player. The club made its big league debut early to prevent Kershaw from being selected as the U.S. national baseball team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At that time, the principle of selecting the U.S. national baseball team was minor league players and college amateurs. San Diego State right-hander Stephen Strasburg was effectively the ace.
Kershaw, who started the big league in 2008, marks the 17th year since negotiations with the Dodgers in 2024. He is the oldest player including the Dodgers’ coaching staff. He is a one-club man, which is very rare in Dodgers’ recent moves. The Dodgers traded Pedro Martinez and Mike Piazza, who they raised and became future Hall of Famer.