Clayton Kershaw stays with Dodgers for $93M, 3-year deal
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this Oct. 17 photo, Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw throws during the first inning of Game 5 of the baseball NL Championship Series game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Los Angeles. After pushing his decision back 48 hours, the Dodgers ace, today, has to either opt out of the final two years and $65 million on his contract or play out the string.
LOS ANGELES >> Clayton Kershaw is staying with the Los Angeles Dodgers, agreeing to a $93 million, three-year contract that avoids free agency.
The agreement was reached today, the deadline for Kershaw to opt out of his previous deal, a $215 million, seven-year contract that had two seasons remaining at a total of $65 million.
The left-hander gets an additional $28 million in guaranteed money. The new agreement includes $4 million annually in performance bonuses based on starts, in four $1 million increments. He also can earn award bonuses.
Winner of the NL Cy Young Award in 2011, ‘13 and ‘14, the seven-time All-Star was limited to 26 starts this year because of a back injury and went 9-5 with a 2.73 ERA while striking out 155. The Dodgers lost in the World Series for the second straight season, with Kershaw taking the loss in Sunday’s season-ending Game 5 defeat to Boston.
Kershaw signed his $215 million deal in January 2014. It called for salaries of $32 million next year and $33 million in 2020.
At 30, Kershaw has experience a fastball velocity decrease, and he missed time this season because of two stints on the disabled list. But he remains the face of the franchise and his dedicated work habits have filtered down to the younger pitchers on the staff.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
“He’s made as much of an impact as you can on an organization in terms of the success we’ve had,” Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations, said Thursday.
Kershaw has a 153-69 regular-season record with a 2.39 ERA in 318 games but is 9-10 with a 4.32 ERA in the postseason.
