LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers star left-hander Clayton Kershaw said he will return for an 18th season in 2025 after making a career-low seven starts this past season.

Kershaw, 36, will not pitch in the current postseason because of a bone spur in his right big toe. He did not make his regular-season debut until July 25 following offseason shoulder surgery.

“Obviously, I had some tough luck with my foot this year. But I want to make use of this surgery,” Kershaw said on the FOX pregame show in advance of Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets. “I don’t want to have surgery and shut it down. So I’m gonna come back next year and give it a go and see how it goes.”

The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner and 2014 NL MVP has been a mainstay in the Dodgers’ rotation, spending his entire MLB career in Los Angeles.

Kershaw pitched on one-year contracts in 2022 and 2023 before signing an incentive-laden $5 million deal for 2024 that included a $5 million option for 2025.

He went 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA over 30 innings this past season and is 212-94 lifetime with a 2.50 ERA in 432 appearances (429 starts) after he was a first-round draft pick by Los Angeles in 2006.

Kershaw’s playoff results have been a mixed bag. He has gone 13-13 with a 4.49 ERA in 39 appearances (32 starts), while also earning a save in the 2016 NL Division Series against the Washington Nationals.

With 2,968 career strikeouts, Kershaw is just shy of becoming the 20th pitcher in MLB history to reach 3,000.

–Doug Padilla, Field Level Media