The winter of 2023-2024 will likely be an intriguing one for a lot of causes. The Dodgers have been linked to simply about each top-tier participant by way of commerce or free company — one among whom is presumably the best baseball participant of all time, Shohei Ohtani — and so they have one thing to show after a second early playoff exit in a row.
All eyes will likely be on the Japanese sensation for the subsequent couple of months as we wait to see the place he’ll land. Nevertheless, regardless that all eyes will likely be on Shohei, there are nonetheless a ton of storylines surrounding the Dodgers, together with Future Corridor of Famer Clayton Kershaw.
For the Dodgers, it’s one other offseason of sitting and ready on a choice from the ace. The sport of will he retire, will he re-sign, or will he depart for Texas has turn out to be second hat for followers over the previous couple of winters. This offseason has a significant added wrinkle of surgical procedure carried out on the left-hander’s prized left shoulder with a attainable return not anticipated till the center of the 2024 season.
Surgical procedure apart, a perception grew inside the Dodger group that 2023 was doubtlessly lining as much as be his final both manner. This in response to LA Occasions insider, Jack Harris.
And whereas Kershaw has finally stayed in LA on one-year contracts every of the previous years, there was a rising sentiment amongst some inside the Dodgers group this 12 months that 2023 could be the pitcher’s final season with the group.
If that is the final we’ve seen of Kershaw, he positive left a long-lasting reminiscence within the worst manner attainable. The final time we’d have seen him was in Recreation 1 of the 2023 NLDS towards the Arizona Diamondbacks. In the event you forgot, Kershaw allowed six hits, six earned runs on 35 pitches, one stroll, zero strikeouts, and left the sport after recording only one out.
It will be the worst outing of his profession, and I discover it onerous to consider he’ll exit like that.
In actuality, none of us know till the lefty ace says so, and my intestine tells me he will likely be again for the 2024 season with the Boys in Blue. It’ll be onerous to see the three-time Cy Younger winner in one other jersey, and it received’t occur in our lifetimes.
Picture Credit score: Rob Schumacher-Arizona Republic
