Interesting details emerge about Clayton Kershaw’s new Dodgers contract

Mar 4, 2020; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) looks on prior to a spring training game against the San Francisco Giants at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Dodgers appear to have found a good balance in their new deal with franchise icon Clayton Kershaw.

Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reported Friday on some interesting details in the new contract between the Dodgers and Kershaw, which the lefty agreed to earlier this week. Kershaw is getting a one-year deal with a player option for 2025 as well. He has a guaranteed base salary of $5 million in each year.

Ardaya also says that Kershaw has some incentives in the new contract that can bring it up to a maximum value of $12 million in 2024 (depending on how many starts he makes). If Kershaw pitches enough games in 2024, his salary for 2025 will also increase to the same range with the opportunity for more performance bonuses, Ardaya adds.

For the three-time Cy Young winner Kershaw, his timeline for a return to the mound is up in the air after he underwent a major shoulder surgery in November of last year. He will likely be sidelined through at least the first half of next season but is targeting a return at some point in the summer.

Anything that the Dodgers can get out of Kershaw will just be gravy after they added Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and James Paxton to their rotation this offseason to go along with the likes of Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller, and Emmet Sheehan (Shohei Ohtani will be ready to pitch again in 2025 too). But they are giving the nearly 36-year-old Kershaw a decent final payday with a shot at even more if he can prove his health.