Dodgers Notes: Kershaw, Edman, Hernandez, Ohtani

Longtime face of the Dodgers’ franchise and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw is making his 2025 season debut against the Angels this evening, and ahead of the start of his 18th season in the majors the veteran spoke to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic about his drive to continue his playing career.

“I don’t really understand that question,” Kershaw said, as relayed by Ardaya, when asked why he’s continuing his career. “People ask me that. Why not just ride off into the sunset? I’m 37. I have a long time ahead of me. Baseball is fun. So why not? As of today, that’s my answer, yeah.”

Kershaw, of course, has flirted with the possibility of retirement from time to time over the years. After winning a second World Series championship with the Dodgers last year and being forced to end his season in August due to injuries that eventually required surgery on his left plantar plate and to repair a torn left meniscus over the winter. He’s been rehabbing ever since, and enters this year playing on a one-year deal that guarantees him just $7.5MM, although incentives based on starts made and time on the active roster could bring that total up to $15MM by the end of the season depending on his health.

The southpaw is already a slam-dunk Hall of Famer and one of the greatest pitchers of the 21st century, but there are some career milestones left for him to conquer. For one thing, he’s 32 strikeouts away from being the 20th pitcher in MLB history to reach 3,000 for his career. The 257 1/3 innings he’d still need in order to join the 3,000 innings club isn’t a goal he can reach this season, but after pitching 258 innings total in 2022 and ’23 it’s not hard to imagine him reaching that milestone before his 40th birthday should he decide to continue his career for that long.

One other motivator for Kershaw could be that neither of his World Series rings have come with the full experience: the Dodgers couldn’t hold a parade in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Kershaw was not on the field with his teammates for their championship last year due to injuries. Kershaw confirmed that his inability to participate down the stretch last year was a source of frustration.

“Nobody wants to just sit around,” Kershaw said, as relayed by Ardaya. “I want to pitch, and contribute, and be a part of it. Last year was difficult. Obviously, fun to at least be a part of it and see us win and things like that. You always want to be a part of a great team. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

More from around the Dodgers…

• The Los Angeles lineup has been a bit battered in recent weeks with both Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernández both on the injured list. Fortunately, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Ardaya) yesterday that the club may not be without those bats for very long. Edman is expected to be activated for tomorrow’s series finale against the Angels, while Hernandez is currently on a brief rehab assignment but could be active as soon as this coming Monday against the Diamondbacks. Edman’s 122 wRC+ and versatility have been sorely missed since he went on the IL at the end of April, while Hernandez’s .315/.333/.600 slash line prior to hitting the shelf with a groin strain on May 6 trailed only Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani on the team.
• Speaking of Ohtani, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes that his latest bullpen saw him throw 50 pitches split between two 25-pitch “innings” during an up-and-down session. Plunkett adds that it’s the most pitches he’s thrown in a single session during his recovery from Tommy John surgery. That could mean that progressing to facing live hitters is coming soon, though Plunkett did note that the two-way phenom still has yet to throw any breaking pitches. Even with this progress in his rehab, the reigning NL MVP shouldn’t be expected back on a big league mound until the second half of the season.