“There is no finality in Clayton Kershaw’s future. There is uncertainty,” Bill Shaikin writes in an article for the LA Times. While he’s hardly the first to think along those lines as the future Hall of Famer approaches a decision about his opt-out clause, Shaikin’s words do an excellent job of setting the tone for a conversation that’s likely quite uncomfortable for a large chunk of the fan base: Did Clayton Kershaw just make his last regular season start at Dodger Stadium?
For Kershaw’s part, he was transparent about his feelings on the mound. “I would be lying if I said it didn’t cross my mind,” Kershaw said. When asked whether or not he’d decided to opt out of the remaining $65MM on his contract, the lefty simply said “no”. Dodgers chairman Mark Walter reportedly confirmed on Friday that he still hopes to make Kershaw a Dodger “for life”. The city of Los Angeles will probably be monitoring any rumors and hints about the situation quite closely in the coming weeks as the deadline for their franchise icon’s decision advances.
More news from out west…
- An interesting piece by Ron Wolschleger at Beyond the Box Score details the success of Astros deadline acquisition Ryan Pressly, and opines that he might be their best reliever. Highlighted in the piece are Pressly’s 0.90 ERA and 36.6% strikeout rate since joining the Astros. His 1.60 FIP also ranks second in the majors since the deadline. Mentioned in the piece as one potential catalyst for Pressly’s production surge after coming to Houston are changes in his pitch selection and sequencing, particularly the ditching of his two-seam fastball.
- With the Diamondbacks having plummeted out of the postseason picture, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic looks ahead to the offseason and lists the club’s 11 pending free agents and ranks them in order of how good a fit they are to be re-signed by Arizona. Interestingly enough, Buchanan opines that 35-year-old catcher Jeff Mathis is the best bet to be kept, in no small part due to his defensive prowess, game-calling abilities and positive clubhouse presence. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Buchanan doesn’t expect the Diamondbacks to keep right-hander Randall Delgado in the fold for 2019, citing his poor overall results on the season.
Has a a significant injury last 3 seasons and is getting older I doubt he gets a bigger contract he already he has. He might actually take less money just to get more financial security possibly a 6yr w 25 mil annually
Doubt anyone would give Kershaw 6 years at this point. Perhaps the guys who ran baseball teams 10 years ago would, but these Ivy League nerds running baseball from computer screens aren’t going to take that risk. He’ll opt out and resign with the Dodgers, or they’ll just give him a 2 year extension, but he’s not getting 6 years.
You make it sound like a negative thing that they wouldnt just throw money at him because who he is. If he had a year or two left, yeah sure. But no, 6 years is not worth that risk unless he wants to agree to heavily optioned years at the back end of the contract. Its how you compete long term instead of having a Pujols on your team dragging payroll.
If I made it sound negative that they wouldn’t do it, I apologize, that was not my intent. My point was that baseball has changed; last offseason wasn’t about colluding teams keeping salaries down, it was about the change in front-offices, the majority of which or run by bottom-line types who understand risk vs. value more than traditional “baseball guys” do.
Baseball is changing, some of it good, some of it bad, but part of that change is team’s aren’t going to be spending their money on players past their primes, and that is good.
Meaning, that Kershaw will soon be unemployed?
Well 6/150 is more team friendly than 5/150 years Obly matter if the $$ are going up
It’s kind of amazing how Jeff Mathis has appeared in every MLB season since 2005 despite never having a good offensive season. That speaks a lot about his other abilities.
Kershaw will opt out, half the teams in the league would give him deal worth over 65 million. It’s probably just a play to get better deal from Dodgers though. Can’t see him leaving.
I agree that most teams will give him more than $65M, but he’s not going to get a huge, record-setting deal. He’ll probably get 4 years at $33-$36M per year.
And he stays w Dodgers. Too much at stake not to— for both sides.
What does that mean? “Too much at stake?”
Should be obvious enough to not need an explanation.
4/140 makes a lot of sense also could be something like 6/160 if he wants to just maximize $$
I don’t understand the obsession with the $65m figure. Would Kershaw be better off opting out if he ended up with $100m over five years? Four? Even Three? The key to this is how many years he is signed beyond age 32 and how much is guaranteed and how much is based on performance.
With Billie Jean on board the Dodgers have even more money falling out of their ass.
Five years with a sixth year option. Easily 150+ million
Billie Jean is P.R. and P. C. No money worth stating.
What does having her on the ownership group, as nothing more than a token, do to their finances? The Dodgers could bring in Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates and it wouldn’t change their finances. What they spend on payroll and other endeavors are based on their revenues—e.g, how much money they bring in (tickets, TV money, merchandise, etc.—unless King or anyone else is purchasing everything from the Dodgers’ clubhouse store, or buying up advertising on the TV network, they’re not going to change what the team can spend.
If I was a betting man, I’d probably put my money on Kwrshaw leaving.
It’s shocking to even write that, but that’s my guess.
Kershaw, too.
I hope the Twins’ President, GM, Manager, Pitching Coach, Bullpen Coach, and assorted Catchers take note of the flourishing of Ryan Pressly in Houston. Collectively, NONE of them could figure out how to correctly use him to get maximum results. Finally, out of frustration, they traded him and did Pressly a HUGE favor.
A comment to the collective Minnesota Twins brain trust, “DUH”..
The Astros did the same with Cole, Morton, and McHugh. To some degree, they resurrected Verlander.
The Astros are extremely good at maximizing their pitchers.
Yes they are. And sadly the Twins are not.