2025 could finally be the year Clayton Kershaw joins the Texas Rangers

Could the prodigal son come home this winter?

Los Angeles Dodgers’ mainstay Clayton Kershaw recently announced that he plans to play in 2025, and while LA will certainly attempt to keep the lefty, the Texas Rangers may try to finally lure the Dallas native to Arlington.

Kershaw has a player option with the Dodgers for the 2025 season, but it is possible (perhaps not likely) that he could test free agency and leave LA.

“Mentally, I feel great. I had shoulder surgery last offseason, and my shoulder and elbow, everything, my arm, feels great,” Kershaw said on the Fox NLCS pregame show this past Monday. “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.”

2025 could finally be the year Clayton Kershaw joins the Texas Rangers

Kershaw’s resume speaks for itself. The former first-round pick is a 10-time All Star, three-time Cy Young award winner, five-time ERA winner, Triple Crown winner, Most Valuable Player, and a World Series champion. Regardless of his Postseason inconsistencies, the veteran is undoubtedly one of the best arms the game has ever seen.

All 17 seasons of the 36-year-old’s career have been spent with the Dodgers in Chavez Ravine. While Kershaw has a relationship with general manager Chris Young, and has said he would be open to playing for Rangers numerous times in the past, he more recently said he intends to be a Dodger next season.

Even if Kershaw does test free agency, it sounds as if the Rangers would have to make an extremely compelling sales pitch. Further, it is not known if Texas would even be willing to sign Kershaw at this particular moment in his career.

The Rangers will have to make tweaks to both their bullpen and rotation this offseason, but after only making seven starts in 2024, it will be interesting to see if Texas would “roll the dice” on an aging talent whose availability is currently suspect.

2025 could be the year Kershaw comes to the Rangers, but such a development will require some serious convincing and a change of heart.