To say that Dodgers fans are a little anxious over the free-agent situation their beloved team is facing right now would be a gross understatement. I mean, we’re talking twelve players from their 2021 season-ending 40-man roster who are now MLB free agents. That’s 30 percent of said roster. They are (alphabetically):

• Starting pitcher Danny Duffy
• Starting pitcher Cole Hamels
• Closer Kenley Jansen
• Reliever Joe Kelly (the Dodgers declined Kelly’s $12 million club option for 2022)
• Reliever Corey Knebel
• Reliever Jimmy Nelson
• First baseman Albert Pujols
• Starting pitcher Max Scherzer
• Shortstop Corey Seager
• Outfielder Steven Souza Jr.
• Utility infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor

…oh, and some guy named Clayton Kershaw, who was eligible for but was not given a Qualifying Offer from Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman this past week – to the tune of $18.4 million.

Why, you ask?

Well, the first – and simplest – answer is that it would be a $12.6 million pay cut from the $31 million the 33-year-old Dallas, TX native and Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2006 out of Highland Park High School in University Park, TX has been paid for each of the past three seasons and, quite frankly, would have been a slap in the face to the future first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Secondly, chances are that Kershaw would be looking for something a bit more long-term – if he chooses to continue playing.

I know no one wants to hear or even think it, but there is a very real possibility that the greatest Dodgers left-hander since Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax may choose to retire – as a Dodger.

“We’ve made it very clear that if Kersh wants to come back, he will always have a spot with what he’s meant to this organization, not just looking back but with what we think he can do for us next year,” Friedman told Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic (subscription required) on Tuesday at the General Managers meetings currently underway in Carlsbad, California. “I know he wants to take a little time with Ellen and figure out what’s best for them and also, more importantly, get to a point where he feels good health-wise. We have no reason to believe that he won’t. This would’ve accelerated the timeline.

“I think just with our respect for him and for what he’s done for this organization, [a Qualifying Offer] wasn’t something that we wanted to do and put him on that kind of clock when he wasn’t ready for it.”

It was that “I know he wants to take a little time with Ellen and figure out what’s best for them” thing that has Dodgers fans – at least this Dodger fan – thinking that retirement may indeed be on the horizon for the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner, eight-time All-Star, five-time ERA champion, former Gold Glove winner, former Triple Crown winner, and former MLB MVP.

Obviously, it’s not a money thing for the Kershaws. Of greater concern is that, although only 33 years old, his recovery from elbow and shoulder injuries he suffered during the 2021 season took a very long time – so long, in fact, that he missed the entire 2021 postseason.

There isn’t a Dodgers – or baseball – fan on the planet who wants to see Clayton Kershaw retire. But it may be time for fans to come to the harsh realization that it is a very real possibility.

Keep in mind that Sandy Koufax retired at age 30.

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