While the Los Angeles Dodgers have had the best offseason of any team in baseball, the National League West champions could have their first major departure with the Texas Rangers reportedly in hot pursuit of franchise icon Clayton Kershaw.
The Dodgers have stunned the baseball world over the last couple of weeks as they have made the two biggest splashes in MLB free agency. Two weeks ago they won the historic Shohei Ohtani chase as they gave the two-way superstar a $700 million contract.
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They followed that up this week when they were also the victors in the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes after giving the Japanese ace a 12-year contract worth $325 million. Furthermore, they also traded for talented Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow earlier this month. Suffice to say, it has been a dream offseason for the Dodgers so far.
However, the organization is bound to eventually lose some key players from their 2023 team, no matter how much money they hand out. And it seems like the first one could happen soon based on a new report from The Athletic’s MLB insider Ken Rosenthal.
Los Angeles Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw a top free agent target of the Texas Rangers
“The Rangers likely will be without three of their starting pitchers — Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Tyler Mahle — for at least the first half of the season,” Rosenthal wrote on Friday. “But that isn’t deterring them from continuing their pursuit of another accomplished starter recovering from injury, free-agent left-hander Clayton Kershaw.”
The 2023 World Series champion Texas Rangers have built a reputation for throwing around big money in recent offseasons, and considering the serious need they have in the rotation, they could certainly outbid the Dodgers for the future Hall-of-Famer in the coming weeks.
Despite dealing with injuries again in 2023, Kershaw did have another strong season while he was on the field. The 35-year-old earned All-Star honors with a 13-5 record and posted a 2.46 ERA and 1.063 WHIP in 24 appearances this season.
In November he announced that he underwent surgery on the glenohumeral ligaments and capsule on his throwing shoulder.