Clayton Kershaw Hopes NL West Rival Turns Their Season Around

The pitcher wants a division foe to turn the corner.

For the Los Angeles Dodgers, it was an uncharacteristically bad start to their 2023 season.

For a team that's used to dominating their division, they found themselves as far back as third place in the NL West earlier this year before winning five of their last six games to head into the All Star break tied for first with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

It was an abrupt jolt that was much needed for the Dodgers, and now they look very much look like a team that can contend both in the NL West and into October.

For Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw, he hopes a division rival can pull off a similar turnaround.

During his media session at the All-Star festivities in Seattle, Kershaw spoke about wanting high-payroll teams to do well, and that's when he brought up the San Diego Padres, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

“I think you want teams that spend money to do well. As a player, that’s what we want. So, the Mets and Padres, we need to have them back where they belong. They’re playing better, both of them, so I think they’ll be there. Obviously, there’s a lot of young talent, and that’s great and all. But ultimately, teams that spend money hopefully are rewarded in this game. And I think over the long period of time, you will see that’s the way to be successful, for sure.”

In case you didn't already know, the team led by highly-paid stars Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis, Jr., and Manny Machado have fallen well short of expectations this season.

They're 43-47 at the break, six games back in the race for the NL's final Wild Card spot.

That said, there's ample time for them to change their fortunes, although they're in a much deeper hole compared to where the Dodgers were before their turnaround.

But San Diego certainly has the talent to pull off a 180, and after winning six of their last eight games before the season hit its pause, may be on the precipice of doing just that.

If they can resume their quality play, it could very well be a battle down the stretch between the Dodgers and the Padres, two teams that have some of the highest payrolls in the sport.

And that'd be exactly the way Clayton Kershaw wants it, for the good of the game.