Clayton Kershaw Has Shoulder Surgery, Will Miss Significant Time In 2024
Clayton Kershaw missed time during the 2023 regular season with a shoulder injury that both he and the Dodgers refused to discuss in detail.
Kershaw missed a little more than a month, returning in early August, though with significantly diminished velocity and missing some of his trademark command. His shortened season culminated with a disastrous postseason outing; allowing six runs while getting just one out in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
On Friday, Kershaw essentially explained the shoulder injury and his diminished performance by announcing that he had surgery to "repair the gleno-humeral ligaments and capsule" on his throwing shoulder.
While he didn't reveal an exact timeline, he did say that he's "hopeful to return to play at some point next summer."
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 07: Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks during Game One of the Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 07, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
What Does This Mean For Clayton Kershaw's Future?
Kershaw in the past few years has purposefully signed one-year deals, choosing to decide each offseason whether or not he wants to return.
That makes his announcement, that he intends to return and pitch next summer, a bit more surprising. Given that he's publicly debated retiring each offseason, now could seem like an appropriate time to shut it down instead of fighting through a lengthy, difficult recovery.
Heading into his age-36 season in 2024, Kershaw has little left to prove. He's a surefire Hall of Famer, with 210 career wins and nearly 3,000 career strikeouts. A three-time Cy Young winner and one of the few pitchers to win an MVP award; the list of his accomplishments are nearly endless.
The past few seasons have been marred by injuries, unsurprisingly, given his heavy regular season and playoff workload during the early part of his career. Through his age-35 season, he's thrown nearly 2,900 innings, a similar amount to Max Scherzer, despite Scherzer being nearly four years older. Jacob deGrom, by comparison, is the same age as Kershaw, yet has thrown just 1,387 career innings. But perhaps not wanting his career to end on the disappointing NLDS outing, the announcement shows he's committed to returning.
Shoulder surgeries for pitchers have a spotty track record, although Kershaw's is apparently not as serious as the more common anterior capsule or rotator cuff repairs. While he has yet to decide between staying in LA or playing for his hometown Rangers, this news seems to make it more likely he stays put.
The Dodgers are used to dealing with pitcher injuries, and could be more willing to wait out his recovery. Texas is already set to miss deGrom for most of 2024 and could have nearly $100 million committed to their rotation.
For LA, even if Kershaw returns, it cements the need to be aggressive in the free agent pitching market. Especially if the recovery turns out to be longer than expected.