Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw plans to return in 2025

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Dodgers star left-hander Clayton Kershaw said he will return for an 18th season in 2025 after making a career-low seven starts this past season.

Kershaw, 36, will not pitch in the current postseason because of a bone spur in his right big toe. He did not make his regular-season debut until July 25 following offseason shoulder surgery.

"Obviously, I had some tough luck with my foot this year. But I want to make use of this surgery," Kershaw said on the FOX pregame show in advance of Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets. "I don't want to have surgery and shut it down. So I'm gonna come back next year and give it a go and see how it goes."

The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner and 2014 NL MVP has been a mainstay in the Dodgers' rotation, spending his entire MLB career in Los Angeles.

Kershaw pitched on one-year contracts in 2022 and 2023 before signing an incentive-laden $5 million deal for 2024 that included a $5 million option for 2025.

He went 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA over 30 innings this past season and is 212-94 lifetime with a 2.50 ERA in 432 appearances (429 starts) after he was a first-round draft pick by Los Angeles in 2006.

Kershaw's playoff results have been a mixed bag. He has gone 13-13 with a 4.49 ERA in 39 appearances (32 starts), while also earning a save in the 2016 NL Division Series against the Washington Nationals.

With 2,968 career strikeouts, Kershaw is just shy of becoming the 20th pitcher in MLB history to reach 3,000.

--Doug Padilla, Field Level Media