Clayton Kershaw returning to Dodgers for 18th season

The Dodgers have once again been on a spending frenzy in free agency.Now they’re re-upping with one of the cornerstones of their franchise.

Los Angeles and left-hander Clayton Kershaw on Tuesday have agreed to a contract to bring him back for his 18th season with the club, according to multiple reports.It’s not clear what the full terms of the deal are yet.The contract has not yet been finalized, as he still needs to complete his physical, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

Even though Kershaw, 36, is not officially on the team’s active roster, he was indeed an active participant at Dodgers workouts at their spring training facility at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona.After suffering an injury to his pitching shoulder in 2023 that required him to undergo offseason surgery, which forced him to sit out until late July last season.The 10-time All-Star only pitched seven games before landing on the injured list again with a big toe injury.

He did not pitch in September or in the Dodgers’ World Series run.Kershaw, the 2014 National League MVP, has built a Hall of Fame resume over his nearly two-decade big league career with a 212-94 record and 2.50 ERA, which is the best among active qualified starters in the majors.He has not pitched at least 30 games in the regular season since 2015, but with the Dodgers already loaded with arms on their staff — adding Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki and two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell this offseason — they likely won’t need to depend on Kershaw for heavy innings....