Dodgers insider sheds light on Clayton Kershaw's future in Los Angeles

Three-time Cy Young Award-winner Clayton Kershaw is one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise. The 36-year-old southpaw is currently an unsigned free agent recuperating from a couple of surgeries that he underwent at the end of the season.

MLB insider Fabian Ardaya believes Clayton Kershaw will eventually rejoin the Los Angeles Dodgers at some point this year after he fully recovers from the surgeries on his left knee and big toe. Ardaya feels Kershaw can still be a valuable addition to the Dodgers pitching staff despite his advancing age, even if they already have a wealth of quality starting pitchers on their roster.

Fabian Ardaya is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ardaya was a guest on the Dodgers Territory podcast this Thursday. He gave his insight into the potential comeback of Clayton Kershaw to the reigning World Series champions during the show. [12:25 - 14:30]

"He's hoping to be back at some point in the midseason," Ardaya said. "He's still in the early stages of a throwing progression. You have to see how the knee feels, how the toe feels, and also how that surgically repaired shoulder feels.

"If all goes well, there's going to be spots that open up over the course of the season," he added. "We saw that last year. We see that with how this pitching rotation is constructed. It's a lot of talented names, but also guys who are either coming off injury or have dealt with injury in the past. They'll find ways to piece it together."

Kershaw made just seven starts last season and pitched 30 innings with a 4.50 ERA, which are all career-low figures for the 10-time All-Star.

There's no such thing as too much pitching depth: Fabian Ardaya on the Dodgers handing a roster spot for Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw made just seven starts for the Dodgers last year (Image Source: IMAGN)

Fabian Ardaya is confident that Clayton Kershaw will play some role for the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching staff considering the issues they faced in keeping their starting pitchers healthy despite having numerous options on their roster. They had to start with their bullpen in some of their postseason games even though they went on to win the World Series.

"We saw last year, there's no such thing as too much pitching depth," Ardaya said. "Things have a way of sorting themselves out, especially on the pitching front. When it comes to finding bodies to throw in at the problem, the Dodgers have even more bodies to throw at the problem than they did last year when they used a franchise record 40 pitchers."

Therefore, the Dodgers should find a place for Clayton Kershaw on their roster, especially as he has spent his entire 17-year major league career with the team.