Clayton Kershaw was forced to watch the Dodgers’ playoffs from the dugout due to bone spurs in his left big toe, capping an injury-marred season in which he had a career-low 30 innings. Despite these obstacles, Kershaw told the Fox Sports pregame crew today (video link) that he plans to return for his 18th Major League season.

Referring to the shoulder procedure he underwent last November, Kershaw said: “I want to take advantage of this operation, you know? I don’t want to have surgery and have it stopped. So I’ll come back next year and give it a try and see how it goes.” While he referred to his bone spurs as “what bad luck”, Kershaw said differently, “my shoulder and elbow, everything, my arm, feels great.”

Injuries have been a ubiquitous part of Kershaw’s story in recent seasons, and he openly considered retirement before ultimately deciding to keep pitching in general and pitching for the Dodgers. With a 4.50 ERA over his 30 frames in his age-36 season, this was the first time Kershaw showed any decline in performance amid his health issues – although he was limited to 258 innings in the 2022-2023 seasons, having Kershaw still has a 2.37 ERA and was an All-Star in both campaigns.

Kershaw gave no indication as to whether or not further surgery would be required to address his bone spurs, although that may seem like the logical course of action for what has apparently been a longer-term problem. (Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said in August that Kershaw had been dealing with bone spurs for several years.) Until we know whether or not such a procedure is even necessary, it’s too early to say whether Kershaw is fully ready is to go when the Dodgers begin their Spring Training camp in February. His shoulder rehabilitation postponed his 2024 debut until July 25.

While rehabbing from shoulder surgery, Kershaw deferred his next contract until February 2024, when he rejoined the Dodgers with a two-year, $10 million guarantee. The contract specifically includes a $5 million deal for the 2024 season and then a minimum $5 million player option for 2025 that Kershaw will likely exercise. Under the terms of the contract, Kershaw earned an additional $2.5 million in salary through 2024, and an additional $5 million on his player option, so he will now save another $10 million by picking up his player option. It’s possible Kershaw and the Dodgers could work out some sort of extension to lock in that salary and pick another option for 2026, giving both sides flexibility if Kershaw wants to continue pitching another season.

While Kershaw could still have a World Series ring in a few weeks, it’s not surprising that he isn’t considering ending his career on the low note of a 30-inning season. He even had a 2.63 ERA in his first five starts before allowing eight runs in the final six innings pitched, presumably when recurring toe discomfort began to affect his performance. If Kershaw can stay as healthy as possible for a 37-year-old pitcher with his injury history, it’s not hard to imagine he can still provide quality production.

After dealing with a mountain of pitching injuries this season, the Dodgers technically have a full staff of options for 2025, even if every available arm has some degree of health issues. As The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya noted, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman stated this weekend that the team may use a six-man rotation to keep everyone healthy and provide more rest for Shohei Ohtani And Yoshinobu Yamamoto specifically. Ohtani did not pitch in 2024 due to UCL surgery and obviously has the added workload of his DH duties, while the Dodgers have kept Yamamoto on the Japanese pitching schedule with at least five days of rest.

Between that duo and Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow missed the end of the season and the playoffs due to an elbow sprain, Tony Gonsolin Did not pitch in 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and Dustin May didn’t pitch in 2024 due to recovery from a pair of arm procedures in July 2023 and then throat surgery in July of this year. Bobby Miller, Landon Knack, Justin Wrobleskiand prospect Jackson Ferris are other arms that are part of the rotation mix. It also stands to reason that LA will definitely add another pitcher or two this season to help protect this group from any further injuries.