Despite all of the focus on the Los Angeles Dodgers being one of the teams vying for Shohei Ohtani, they also have a notable free agent in Clayton Kershaw, who is available for a second straight year.

However, unlike last winter, Kershaw is still healing from surgery on his left shoulder, so he won’t be ready for Opening Day of the 2024 season. Kershaw stated that he planned to make a comeback by the middle of 2024.

However, the Dodgers have expressed openly that they would like to re-sign Kershaw. Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations, said as much both before and after Kershaw revealed he had surgery on his shoulder.

In an interview that aired on MLB Network’s “High Heat,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts mentioned that he intended to have a conversation with Kershaw following the conclusion of the Winter Meetings:

“I have his task on my list. Clayton will hear from me either on Thursday or Friday. I will give him a call to see how he, his family, the children, and Ellen are doing. I believe we can safely assume he will throw in ’24. In my opinion, the key is when and with whom to ask. You just can’t put any pressure on this guy. He is aware of our admiration for him, our opinions of him, and his degree of comfort with the Dodgers. Thus, while I would like to think it’s obvious, only Clayton is aware of it. I will follow up to see how he is doing.

Kershaw is a Dodgers free agent for the third straight offseason. He sustained an injury following the 2021 season as well, but Friedman’s patience and the MLB lockout helped him recover more slowly.

The Dodgers have not presented Kershaw with a qualifying offer, which would have included a deadline for deciding on a one-year deal. Kershaw has acknowledged his appreciation for this strategy.

The 2023 season saw Kershaw miss six weeks of play because of an undisclosed shoulder issue. When he was activated off the injured list, Kershaw’s fastball velocity was lower and his command was lacking, but he and the Dodgers insisted that the problems were unrelated to the shoulder issue.

Although Roberts acknowledged that Kershaw would not fully recover this year, he was nonetheless optimistic about his capacity to make starts. During the regular season, Kershaw was 13-5 with a 2.46 ERA and 1.06 WHIP, so things worked out pretty well.

Clayton Kershaw will be signed by which team?Kershaw is reportedly expected to choose between retiring, signing a contract extension with the Dodgers, or joining his home team, the Texas Rangers.

According to reports, there were several in the Dodgers organization who thought Clayton Kershaw would leave the team after the 2023 season, but Kiké Hernández predicted the 35-year-old would sign back.