Clayton Kershaw Rumors: Rangers Eyeing Dodgers Free Agent Despite Shoulder Injury

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It’s not certain when Clayton Kershaw will be able to pitch in 2024 as he recovers from shoulder surgery, but that isn’t stopping the Texas Rangers from their semi-regular pursuit of the three-time NL Cy Young winner.

Per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Rangers are keeping an eye on Kershaw as they explore various pitching options for their starting rotation next season.

Kershaw announced on Nov. 3 he had surgery to repair the glenohumeral ligaments and capsule in his left shoulder after experiencing a notable dip in velocity during his starts late in the 2023 season.

The 35-year-old didn’t dismiss the possibility of retiring following the Los Angeles Dodgers’ loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series.

“I don’t know how to answer that,” Kershaw said when asked about potentially walking away from the sport. His statement about the surgery did at least leave open the door to returning, saying he was “hopeful” to pitch at some point next summer.

If Kershaw is going to play in 2024, the Rangers and Dodgers are the two most likely landing spots. The Dodgers are the only franchise he’s ever played for since being selected with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2006 MLB draft.

The Rangers have tried multiple times over the years to bring in Kershaw as a free agent. There have been rumblings about them at least making an effort to sign him dating back to the winter of 2018.

After signing a one-year deal with the Dodgers last December, Kershaw told reporters that Los Angeles and Texas were the “only two teams that I would ever play for going forward.”

The Rangers certainly don’t mind taking big swings on injury-prone starting pitchers. They signed Jacob deGrom to a five-year, $185 million deal last offseason. He was great in six starts during the 2023 season with a 2.67 ERA and 45 strikeouts over 30.1 innings before undergoing Tommy John surgery on June 18.

Texas proved it could win a World Series with a pieced-together rotation in October because its lineup is good enough to overcome limitations in the pitching staff. It’s a dangerous way to live, but the results from last season are hard to argue with.

Kershaw, even at this late stage of his career, posted a 2.46 ERA with 137 strikeouts in 131.2 innings over 24 starts last season.