Clayton Kershaw To The Rangers? One Report Says It's A Real Possibility

Clayton Kershaw has spent his entire, future Hall of Fame career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But he entered the 2023-2024 offseason with more uncertainty about his immediate future than ever before.

Kershaw was his usual dominant self for the first part of 2023, with a 2.72 ERA, 103 strikeouts in just 89 innings, and an outstanding 22.2 K-BB%. Then he got hurt. Again.

Kershaw missed over a month and a half, returning in the middle of August from an unspecified shoulder injury. And wasn't anywhere close to his usual dominant self.

His velocity dipped significantly, and though his ERA actually improved, the underlying stats painted a different picture. His K-BB% was cut in half, dropping to just 10.5%. Strikeouts per nine innings collapsed from 10.4 to 7.2. Hard hit percentages jumped too, from 29% to 42%. While he gutted his way through the remainder of the season, his one postseason start was, well, awful.

Sure enough, as the offseason started, Kershaw announced he'd undergone shoulder surgery, which would keep him out for most of 2024.

READ: CLAYTON KERSHAW HAS SHOULDER SURGERY, WILL MISS SIGNIFICANT TIME IN 2024

Considering no one's entirely sure how many innings he'll be able to pitch next year, it'd seem like a foregone conclusion he return to the Dodgers. But the World Series Champion Texas Rangers are reportedly still interested, dreaming of a post-All Star Game team up with fellow injured ace Jacob deGrom.

Clayton Kershaw Part Of The Rangers' Plans?

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal posted today that the Rangers believe they might invest in less expensive free agent starters this offseason. Hoping that depth will overcome injury delays.

"The team, according to major-league sources briefed on its plans, has the same idea in mind for ’24," Rosenthal wrote. "The Rangers could sign Kershaw and wait for him and deGrom in the second half."

Given his legacy and the fact that he'll pitch next season at "just" 36-years-old, Kershaw makes sense for a team that believes they can withstand the delay. The Rangers might be able to. The Dodgers by now have come to expect less than a full season from the three time Cy Young winner.

Kershaw's long said he'll only play for the Dodgers or his hometown Rangers, and after last season's controversy, it might be the time he makes the jump. Lost in all the Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto madness is the fact that one of the best pitchers in history is a free agent. Maybe not for much longer.