LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw confirmed with a post on Instagram that he underwent surgeries on his left knee and the big toe on his left foot as scheduled Wednesday.
Kershaw thanked his doctors for “fixing them” and offered this on the plan ahead.
“Planning to crush some rehab and be good as can be next year,” he wrote. “Thanks for all the prayers and support! World Series champs!”
Kershaw was expected to have the meniscus in his left knee repaired. The foot surgery to address a chronic problem that worsened this season was expected to be more complicated.
“There’s a lot of stuff in there,” he said. “I think I ruptured my plantar plate. I think I got a bone spur. I think I got some arthritis. I don’t really know. I’ve got to ask more questions. There’s a lot of stuff that needs to be fixed.”
Kershaw is currently a free agent, having declined the player option for 2025 in his contract earlier this week. He has made it clear that he wants to re-sign with the Dodgers “somehow.”
“I don’t know (how that will play out),” Kershaw said last week after the World Series victory parade. “I’ll be back, somehow. I don’t care. I’ll be back.”
It is unlikely he will be back for a full season, however. There is no specific recovery timeline for his rehab but it is hard to imagine it not delaying his readiness to start pitching next season.
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After recovering from shoulder surgery performed last November, Kershaw, 36, made just seven starts last year before being shut down due to the toe issue. He went 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner has a career record of 212-94 with a 2.50 ERA. He is 32 strikeouts short of becoming the 20th pitcher in baseball history to record 3,000 strikeouts.