Clayton Kershaw Reveals Expected Timeline to Return to Dodgers After Injury

The Los Angeles Dodgers have finally brought back Clayton Kershaw.
In an offseason that has been so wonderful for fans featuring Cy Young award-winners, international phenoms, veteran leadership, core pieces from last year's team, and so much more to improve upon a team that has just won the World Series, something was missing.
Not just something, but everything, in terms of his value to the franchise.
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Now that Kershaw rejoins L.A., fans can take a collective sigh of relief. The baseball world now focuses on what lies ahead for Kershaw in 2025.
Coming off nagging injuries last season that unfortunately left him off of the postseason roster, Kershaw is no spring chicken. The three-time Cy Young award winner turns 37 years old while the Dodgers face the Chicago Cubs in Japan.
As the MVP embarks on his 18th season, Kershaw hopes to come back stronger, and perhaps log more than the abysmal 30 innings pitched in 2024.
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“I hope this is the last time I have to rehab. I’m kind of done with that,” he said. “But at the same time, I don’t want that to be the reason that I stop playing. I don’t want to be, ‘I just can’t do it hurt,’ you know?
“Hopefully I can walk out on my own terms, whenever that is. But it just didn’t kind of feel like it was the right time, even though we won (last year). Being on the shelf for that wasn’t the way that I had scripted it out. I’m still super thankful to be a part of it last year and get to see everything. But I want to be out there when it happens. Always a good motivating factor, for sure.”
A competitor in every sense of the term, the Dodgers' face of the franchise looks to be healthier in 2025. Whenever his illustrious career does come to a close, don't expect it to happen while he is on the bench or in the midst of recovery.
Kershaw has helped L.A. raise two World Series trophies, in addition to his three Cy Young awards and MVP award, has earned five ERA titles, a pitching Triple Crown, and a Gold Glove award.
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Gabe Smallson is a sportswriter based in Los Angeles. His focus is sports and entertainment content. Gabe has previously worked at DodgersNation and Newsweek. He graduated from San Francisco State University in 2020 and is a Masters Candidate at the University of Southern California. You can get in touch with Gabe by emailing gabe.smallson@lasportsreport.com. You can find him on X @gabesmallson