Let's Set Odds: Where Will Clayton Kershaw Play Next?

If there were a Mount Rushmore of Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers, Clayton Kershaw would be on it. 

Winning three National League Cy Young Awards, an NL MVP, a pitching Triple Crown, five ERA titles, eight All-Star appearances, and a World Series Championship will get Kershaw’s face on that mountain.

Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Don Sutton, and Clayton Kershaw.

But, after 14 seasons in Dodger Blue, it appears that Kershaw’s run with Los Angeles has come to an end, entering free agency at the age of 33 (Kershaw will be 34 by Opening Day 2022).

The future Hall of Fame lefty will certainly have plenty of suitors, but which franchise will haul in the active legend? 

WynnBET Sportsbook doesn’t have odds listed where Kershaw will play in 2022, so let’s set odds for where Kershaw will kick the rubber next year.

Texas Rangers (+100)

Clayton Kershaw is a Texas native, born in Dallas, so maybe a homecoming is something he would like to finish out his illustrious career.

The Rangers were awful last season, finishing 60-102. The idea of Texas crawling out of the basement of the American League West and making the playoffs in 2022 is asking a lot, and if Kershaw wants to play for a contender, it may sway him to delay this homecoming.

The Texas Rangers have just $12.75 Million committed to their current 26-Man payroll. That is the lowest in Major League Baseball. They are essentially a blank canvas. The Rangers could bring Kershaw in the fold and still bring in plenty of other pieces that could make Texas a much more competitive team in 2022.

General manager Chris Young is relatively new to his post, and this would be his first big move.

Los Angeles Dodgers (+100)

The Dodgers are the only team that Kershaw has ever played for and he will always be a Dodger, long after he retires. When his plaque goes up in Cooperstown, he will have LA on his cap.

With the end of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement and an impending strike looming over Major League Baseball, it may be best for Kershaw to handle the uncertainty by keeping things familiar. 

Kershaw may decide to ride out the CBA storm at home. I wouldn’t be surprised if Los Angeles were to offer him some sort of incentive-laden one-year deal prior to the new CBA being put into place. 

I wouldn’t be surprised to see that kind of offer for most of MLB’s free agents. It’s going to be a weird offseason.

Boston Red Sox (+500)

The Red Sox need pitching. Their staff dwindled as the season went on, and when Chris Sale came back it seemed like ‘all systems go’ for the Sox rotation. Then it wasn’t. 

Eduardo Rodriguez will be going into free agency, so why not bring another lefty in return? Kershaw could fill that spot.

Even in his early to mid-30’s Kershaw will probably demand more money on the market than someone like Rodriguez, but if the Red Sox don’t fortify their rotation, they will never get over the hump in the playoffs. Boston’s got the money, they just need to make the deal worth Kershaw’s signature.

San Diego Padres (+750)

The Padres have been very aggressive in both the free agency market and the trade market over the last few years, and Clayton Kershaw sounds like a name that GM A.J. Preller would attempt to reel in. 

San Diego attempted to bring Max Scherzer into the mix around the trade deadline in July, but they couldn’t quite get the deal done, watching Scherzer go to the NL West division rival Dodgers instead. What better way to get back at Los Angeles than by signing one of the greatest pitchers in their franchise’s history?

Kershaw to the Padres. Sounds weird, but also right.