When 35-year-old free agent future first-ballot Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw agreed to re-sign with the Dodgers instead of signing with the Texas Rangers to be closer to his Dallas, TX home, there was an audible sigh heard around the entire Dodgers baseball world.

In doing so, it guaranteed that when the 10-time All-Star, five-time ERA title-holder, three-time Cy Young Award winner, Triple Crown winner, former MLB MVP and Player of the Year, and Gold Glove left-hander enters the sacred Halls of Cooperstown, it will be in a Dodgers uniform.

Thankfully, and despite undergoing off-season surgery to his left shoulder, and with the understanding that he (probably) would not make a competitive pitch until after the 2024 All-Star break, Kershaw agreed to terms with Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman on a skillfully crafted one-year/$5 million deal that includes a player option for 2025, with a chance to boost that base salary depending on the number of starts he makes this season.

Prior to the Dodgers exciting 6-4 come-from-behind Spring Training win over the Cleveland Guardians at Camelback Ranch on Friday evening, SportsNetLA’s Kirsten Watson spoke with the future Hall of Famer about where his is at in his recovery from his surgery.

“It’s been good, you know. I’ve been doing the rehab at home and it’s kind of been good to get a little further along in the process, and so I can come here (to Camelback Ranch) and kind of have something to do,” Kershaw answered. “You know, I’m throwing now and feel like a little bit more you’re a part of the team even though we got a ways to go.

“But it’s all good to get back out here, see everybody, and thankful for, you know, everybody with the Dodgers letting me kind of be home for a little bit longer and stay with the family, which has been great,” Kershaw added. “It feels like I’m where I’m supposed to be, obviously. It was weird not being here, watching games on TV. But it’s always fun to come back and see everybody.”

With the loss of his staff ace, Friedman, himself a future Hall of Famer, put together what many consider to be the best starting rotation in the game today, including acquiring 30-year-old Southern California native right-hander Tyler Glasnow in an off-season trade with the Tampa Bay Rays.

All the Newhall, CA native and fifth-round draft pick in 2011 by the Pittsburg Pirates out of Hart High School has done in his (thus far) two Spring Training starts is allow only one run on four hits, with two walks and six strikeouts in his 4.2 innings pitched this Spring.

“He was really impressive,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, following Glasnow’s 3.0 innings pitched on Friday night. “Three innings, very efficient. Fastball was really good tonight. The curveball, he was striking it, shortening it. And so, just overall, a really tremendous outing from Tyler.”

Although Glasnow has a very long way to go to come even remotely close to matching Kershaw’s career accomplishments, he is definitely off to a great start in filling in for the recovering future Hall of Famer this Spring, and has secured a spot in the Dodgers 2024 Opening Day starting rotation.

But Glasnow wasn’t the only Dodgers newcomer to have a big game on Friday night. Twenty-four-year-old Minor League utility infielder Austin Gauthier turned a 4-2 Cleveland Guardians lead into a 6-4 Dodgers win with his dramatic eighth-inning grand slam home run to (very) deep right-center field

“Austin has continued to impress,” Roberts told Watson postgame. “Every time he gets out there it seems something good happens, weither on the defensive side of the baseball or the offense side. Today he went backside, took a really good swing. And even his first at-bat, lined out to center field. And so, he’s an excited player and has really earned his way in the Major League camp.”

With Friday night’s win, the Dodgers are now 6-2 with one tie this Spring.

Well done, boys.

Play Ball!

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