Clayton Kershaw retires: How could Dodgers use All-Star pitcher in the playoffs in his final MLB season?

Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw announced on Thursday that he’s retiring at the end of the 2025 season. In doing so, he’ll put the bow on a career that has spanned parts of 18 campaigns and has included 11 All-Star Game nods, three Cy Young Awards, a Most Valuable Player Award, and two Dodger World Series championships (2020 and 2024).

“On behalf of the Dodgers, I congratulate Clayton on a fabulous career and thank him for the many moments he gave to Dodger fans and baseball fans everywhere, as well as for all his profound charitable endeavors,” owner Mark Walter said in a statement. “His is a truly legendary career, one that we know will lead to his induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame.”  

Kershaw, 37, will make the final regular-season home start of his career on Friday night against the San Francisco Giants, thereby kicking off a series that has major playoff implications for both clubs. Consider that a fitting development because most of what remains of Kershaw’s career story will be penned during the upcoming postseason.

The Dodgers have not yet formally clinched a playoff berth, but should do so within a matter of days. They currently sit in first place in the NL West, though the Padres are putting up a fight.

It’s not yet clear what role Kershaw will fill come October. He’s second on the Dodgers staff in starts (20), coming off a delayed opening to his season thanks to offseason injuries, and has fared fine, compiling a 3.53 ERA (119 ERA+) and a 2.37 strikeout-to-walk ratio. At the same time, the Dodgers have four other starters who have performed even better in Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani. The Dodgers would be justified in relegating Kershaw to the bullpen and instead constructing their rotation around the other four.

“I feel that there’s a place for him on our postseason roster,” manager Dave Roberts told ESPN earlier this week. “I don’t know what role, but I think that the bottom line is, I trust him. And so, for me, the postseason is about players you trust.”

The question of trust will be an interesting one for the Dodgers bullpen. Over the last 30 days, high-leverage arms like Tanner Scott, Blake Treinen, and Kirby Yates have each struggled. It’s not too far-fetched to envision Kershaw pitching some meaningful innings once October rolls around. He’s pitched in relief during the playoffs before, albeit usually as part of an all-hands situation and never exclusively. In seven career postseason relief outings, Kershaw has surrendered five runs (all earned) on six hits, with three of those six hits clearing the fence. The Dodgers have lost five of those seven contests.

Until 2020, the story of Kershaw’s career could not be told unless there was a mention of his playoff woes. Even now, his postseason career ERA is 4.49, well above his 2.54 career regular-season mark, and he’s in possession of a negative Win Probability Added in both the Divisional and League Championship Series. (WPA is a FanGraphs measure that uses empirical data to determine how much a player has helped or hurt his team’s chances of winning.)

If Kershaw does find himself working high-leverage situations throughout the playoffs, he might just round out his career by exorcizing some more of those old demons.