Report: Los Angeles Dodgers offered Kershaw a $300 million deal
By Jake Misener
According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the Los Angeles Dodgers offered ace Clayton Kershaw a contract valued at approximately $300 million. He goes on to call the offer “essentially a lifetime contract” that a source with knowledge of the talks described as “an A-Rod deal.”
Despite the staggering offer, the two sides didn’t come to an agreement. The left-hander had uncertainty about making such a large commitment and also had concerns with discussing his contract during the season. However, this shows that the two sides have held discussions over keeping the former Cy Young Award winner in Los Angeles for the rest of his career. Reports indicate that the final deal presented to Kershaw could be more limited in terms of length, but could also include a considerable amount of money going to a charity of his choice.
Olney says that the deal will likely overshadow other prime pitching contracts, including the seven-year, $175 million deal Seattle Mariners’ ace Felix Hernandez signed earlier this season. Kershaw, 25, is a top candidate to win the 2013 National League Cy Young Award and will reach free agency following the 2015 campaign.
In 1,180 career innings, he has a 2.60 earned run average. This season, he led the Dodgers to a National League West championship and into the National League Championship Series, where they were defeated by the St. Louis Cardinals in six games.