Credit: Imagn

When Will Clayton Kershaw Make His 2025 Debut?

Clayton Kershaw is back!

Credit: Imagn

The Dodgers’ rotation is running on fumes, and help is finally on the way. Clayton Kershaw will make his long-awaited 2025 season debut on Saturday against the Angels, manager Dave Roberts confirmed. The 37-year-old lefty has been sidelined since the start of the year while rehabbing from offseason toe and knee surgeries, but is now cleared to rejoin a Dodgers pitching staff desperate for stability.

Clayton Kershaw’s return couldn’t be better timed. Los Angeles is currently without Blake Snell (left shoulder inflammation), Tyler Glasnow (right shoulder inflammation), and prized rookie Roki Sasaki, who was just placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with a right shoulder impingement.

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In his final rehab outing for Triple-A Oklahoma City, Kershaw threw 57 pitches over four innings, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out two. The three-time Cy Young winner looked solid, if not fully dialed in, but the Dodgers won’t be waiting any longer.

Clayton Kershaw showing the kids at Triple-A how it's done. pic.twitter.com/xbDiIth4z7
— MLB (@MLB) May 11, 2025

Saturday’s start will mark Kershaw’s 18th season with the Dodgers, tying him with Zack Wheat and Bill Russell for the most in franchise history. Only Kershaw and Russell have logged all 18 years since the team’s move to Los Angeles in 1958, a testament to the left-hander’s enduring place in Dodgers lore.

With 212 career wins and just 32 strikeouts shy of 3,000, Kershaw’s legacy is already secure. But this next chapter carries a different kind of weight: he’s being asked not just to return, but to rescue a battered rotation.

How Does Dodgers Rotation Look With Clayton Kershaw?

The current five-man group features Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Landon Knack, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, and now Kershaw. For a team with championship aspirations, it’s far from ideal, but Kershaw’s presence, even at this stage, brings legitimacy, experience, and leadership.

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As the Dodgers brace for another stretch without multiple frontline arms, all eyes turn to Kershaw. He’s no longer the ace of old, but in this moment, he might be exactly what Los Angeles needs.

Clayton Kershaw

Dodgers

Mohsin Baldiwala

mlb

Mohsin Baldiwala is a Master’s student in Journalism and freelance content producer who got hooked on baseball through Seinfeld’s hapless George Costanza. The same reason why he’s a Yankees fan. He writes about sports because he believes it can offer a brief escape from the world’s chaos. Even if that means enduring the heartbreak of the 2024 World Series.