Los Angeles Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw to Make His 2025 MLB Debut on Saturday

The three-time Cy Young winner has yet to pitch this season after undergoing multiple operations in the offseason.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) reacts after left fielder David Peralta caught a line drive hit by San Francisco Giants' Austin Slater during the fifth inning of a game in Los Angeles on Sept. 23, 2023. Ashley Landis/AP Photo

Things just keep getting better for the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who own the second-best record in the National League. On Saturday, Clayton Kershaw, one of the finest pitchers of any era, will come off the injured list to make his season debut at Dodger Stadium against the crosstown Los Angeles Angels.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced the move on Tuesday, before his team’s devastating 11–1 loss to the Athletics.

“It’s great. It’s a big shot in the arm,” Roberts said of Kershaw’s return. “Clayton has worked really hard to get healthy, and the bar is high for him. He doesn’t want to just come back to be active. He wants to come back and help us win baseball games and be good. So, I know he’s excited to contribute.”

After an abbreviated 2024 season in which he threw a career-low of 30 innings, Kershaw, 37,  had multiple surgeries this offseason. He had a torn meniscus repaired on his left knee, as well as surgery on his left big toe due to a ruptured plantar plate. He started the 2025 MLB season on the 60-day injured list but has progressed enough in both rehab and through a couple of minor league starts to warrant a return to the mound in the Big Leagues.

Kershaw, also coming off surgery last season, didn’t make his 2024 debut until late July. He uncharacteristically struggled, as it appeared he wasn’t fully healthy, as the 4.50 ERA he posted was the highest of his career, while his 7.2 strikeouts per nine innings was his lowest ever. Injuries delayed the start of his year and ended it early, as he last pitched on Aug. 30, 2024. Thus, he missed LA’s World Series run but still collected his second championship ring.

He then became a free agent in the offseason but never seriously considered either playing for a new team or retiring. He re-signed with Los Angeles in February for his 18th season with the franchise. That ties Zack Wheat and Bill Russell for the most seasons in Dodgers history.

Kershaw’s impending Big League start comes after five minor league appearances at three different levels. His first return to the mound came in Triple-A in mid-April as he threw three scoreless innings. In late April, he made a start in Double-A and gave up a single run over three innings. He then had another pair of Triple-A starts, with a start at the Rookie-Level Arizona Complex League sandwiched in between, as he got in 21 total innings of work in the minor league system.

Even with Los Angeles sitting atop the National League West, Kershaw’s return is most welcome, considering the team’s rash of injuries to its rotation. On the same day that Roberts announced Kershaw’s return, the Dodgers placed Japanese standout Roki Sasaki on the injured list due to shoulder impingement, with no timeline for his return. Sasaki had struggled with both velocity and arm soreness recently as he posted a 6.75 ERA over his last three starts, compared to a 3.20 ERA over his first five starts.

Additionally, two-time Cy Young winner, Blake Snell, is already on the injured list, as is Tyler Glasnow, who made his first All-Star Game last season. Gavin Stone, who led the Dodgers with 140.1 innings pitched last season, hasn’t pitched this year and isn’t expected to after his own surgery. Then, there’s Shohei Ohtani, who hasn’t displayed his two-way brilliance since the 2023 season. Ohtani is throwing bullpen sessions, and the Dodgers hope he can get back on the mound in the summer, but there are no guarantees.

Kershaw will become the 12th pitcher to start for the Dodgers this season, which is one more than they had at this point last season. The southpaw’s main goal is undoubtedly to help the Dodgers get back to the World Series, but there are also some individual milestones that he could reach this season.

One of those is joining the 3,000-strikeout club as Kershaw currently sits at 2,968 strikeouts, leaving him just 32 away from becoming the 20th member of the club. Kershaw would become just the fourth pitcher to rack up all 3,000 strikeouts with a single club, joining Walter Johnson (Senators), Bob Gibson (Cardinals), and John Smoltz (Braves). With 212 career victories, Kershaw is also just shy of becoming the 20th left-handed pitcher to reach 220 in a career.

A three-time Cy Young winner and 10-time All-Star, Kershaw won the 2011 Pitching Triple Crown and also the 2014 NL MVP. Five times he’s led the Senior Circuit in ERA, while also leading the league in wins three times and in strikeouts three times. His 2.50 career ERA is not only the best amongst all active players but also the best mark of any starting MLB pitcher since the mound was lowered in 1969.