Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers' Updated Rotation After Reported Clayton Kershaw Contract

One of the Los Angeles Dodgers' franchise icons is reportedly staying put.

Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers agreed to a new deal Tuesday, per Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Sherman provided more details, noting Kershaw isn't expected to take the mound until the second half of the season because of shoulder surgery:

This is yet another move in a busy offseason that saw Los Angeles add Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, among others. Ohtani won't pitch this year following surgery, and Kershaw won't be immediately available. The Dodgers are also delaying Walker Buehler's start to the season.

With that in mind, here is a look at the team's current starting pitching rotation, per FanGraphs:

• Yoshinobu Yamamoto
• Tyler Glasnow
  
• Bobby Miller
• James Paxton
• Emmet Sheehan

Whether Kershaw would remain with the Dodgers was one of the most intriguing storylines heading into the offseason. The drama was less about whether he would sign with someone else, but rather if he would retire or come back for at least another year.

After all, he has never played for another team at the major league level, and it is frankly difficult to envision him in another uniform.

The southpaw agreed to a one-year deal with the Dodgers for the 2023 campaign last offseason, but retirement was on his mind at times during the past year.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today noted in July that the future Hall of Famer said he might have retired after the 2022 season if Los Angeles had won the World Series. But he was considering a number of variables for his next decision.

"I have four kids, a wife, I have too many factors when it comes to baseball," Kershaw said at the time, per Nightengale. "I don't want to diminish how much I like playing here, but I'm at a point where I have to take everything in consideration. I'm weighing a lot of factors. It might take a few months after the season to make a decision.

"Last year was easy for me to come back. This year, I honestly have no idea."

He ultimately decided to return even if he will be 36 years old throughout the 2024 campaign.

It might not be entirely fair to expect him to perform like he did at the peak of his career, but he was still excellent in 2023. Kershaw finished the season with a 2.46 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 137 strikeouts in 131.2 innings.

He helped lead the Dodgers to their 10th National League West title in 11 years and 11th consecutive postseason appearance. However, things took a turn for the worse in those playoffs, as Kershaw allowed six earned runs in 0.1 innings in his only appearance during a Division Series loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He may not have been at his best physically, though, as he revealed in November he underwent offseason shoulder surgery.

Regardless of how effective he is in 2024, Kershaw will forever be a Dodgers legend.

His resume includes a World Series title, a National League MVP, three NL Cy Young awards, five ERA titles, a Gold Glove, 10 All-Star selections and three seasons when he led the league in strikeouts.

Kershaw is a lock for the Hall of Fame but will remain in the game for at least another year as he looks to help lead the Dodgers to another World Series crown.