Johnathan Walker:Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw announces he will return for 2025 after injury

LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw won’t pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers this postseason,Johnathan Walker but he plans to return to the mound in 2025.

Ahead of the Dodgers’ matchup against the New York Mets in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, Kershaw joined the Fox pregame coverage and confirmed this season won’t be the end of his storied career.

“Mentally, I feel great. I had shoulder surgery last offseason, and my shoulder and elbow, everything, my arm, feels great,” he said. “Obviously, I had some tough luck with my foot this year, but I want to make use of this surgery. 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.”

Kershaw has a player option with Los Angeles for 2025 and Monday's announcement all but guarantees that he will pick up that option.

Just before the start of the playoffs, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced Kershaw would be out for the remainder of the season due to a toe injury. He last pitched on Aug. 30 when he lasted only one inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks before he left the game due to a bone spur in his left big toe. 

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The 36-year-old veteran had been throwing and trying to stay active so he could become available for the postseason, but the team ultimately decided to shut him down. Roberts said the injury was “actually getting worse.” Kershaw previously said surgery is "definitely in the conversation" but no plans have been announced.

It was an injury-riddled season for the three-time Cy Young winner who signed a one-year contract prior to the season with the team he's spent his entire big league career with. He underwent surgery to repair a torn capsule in his left shoulder in November and didn't make his first appearance of the season until July 25. This season, he pitched 30 innings in seven starts with a 2-2 record and a 4.50 ERA, the highest of his 17-year career.

The future Hall of Famer has spent his entire big league career in Los Angeles, first appearing for the Dodgers in 2008. The 2014 NL MVP and a 10-time All-Star, Kershaw's 2.50 career ERA is the active leader in MLB.

Next season, he also has a chance to reach 3,000 career strikeouts, which would make him the 20th player to do so.

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