Entering the offseason and MLB free agency, Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman acknowledged addressing the starting rotation was going to be a focal point.
The Dodgers had three of their starters reach free agency in Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney, and only three under contract in Julio Urías, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May.
Friedman has routinely said his hope is for Kershaw to retire with the Dodgers, and that is now one step closer to happening.
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Kershaw re-signed with the Dodgers on a one-year contract worth an estimated $20 million:
Dodgers great Clayton Kershaw and the team are in agreement. Deal thought worth close to $20M for 2023. @Ken_Rosenthal was on it
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 11, 2022
On Thursday, the Dodgers opted not to extend the qualifying offer to Kershaw, which would have paid him $19.65 million if he accepted it. While it was presumed the organization didn’t want to rush Kershaw into a decision, it seems more likely they decided to pass on extending the qualifying offer because of their negotiations.
The 34-year-old is coming off another strong season despite two back injuries that cost him multiple weeks of missed action. He went 12-3 with a 2.28 ERA, 2.57 FIP, 0.94 WHIP and 137 strikeouts in 126.1 innings over 22 starts.
Kershaw was also able to start the All-Star Game for the first time in his career, which fittingly came at Dodger Stadium, and passed Don Sutton to become the all-time Dodgers strikeouts leader. The future Hall of Famer finished the season atop the Dodgers’ all-time strikeouts list with 2,807 to Sutton’s 2,696.
Will the Dodgers add another starting pitcher after signing Clayton Kershaw?
Even after re-signing Kershaw, the Dodgers are likely to add at least one more starting pitcher this offseason, which could end up being Anderson.
The Dodgers extended the qualifying offer to Anderson, who now has until November 15 to decide if he wants to return to the team on the one-year deal.
Should he decline it, the 32-year-old could still re-sign with the club under different contract terms. If he leaves for another team, the Dodgers would be compensated with a selection after the fourth round of the 2023 MLB Draft.
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