It was never the case that the Chicago Cubs would be seriously in on a free agent Clayton Kershaw – especially not after picking up the 2019 option on Cole Hamels – but it would nevertheless have been fun to follow his free agency.
But, no one expected it to actually happen, despite his right to opt out of the final two years of his deal with the Dodgers, and it sounds like it is not going to happen:
Sources: The Los Angeles Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw are nearing a deal that would keep him in Los Angeles. One source said it's "very close." The expectation was that he would stay, and as the 4 p.m. ET deadline nears, it's looking like a reality.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 2, 2018
Whether it’s a finalized extension at that moment or not, you figure a deal will get done at some point. It will probably get Kershaw more guaranteed dollars and years, and it could also get the Dodgers a lowered AAV for luxury tax purposes.
UPDATE: Well, this would actually not do that:
As of last night, #Dodgers and Kershaw were talking about adding an additional year to his remaining two years, $65M, likely bringing total over three years to more than $90M but less than $100M, a source says. Final terms might be different. @JeffPassan reporting deal is close.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 2, 2018
UPDATE II (Michael): It’s a done deal.
According to multiple reports on Twitter, Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers have come together on an extension that’ll keep him in Los Angeles for the next three seasons.
Kershaw contract with #Dodgers is for three years, $93M with incentives, per source.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 2, 2018
Previously, Kershaw had two years and $65M remaining, but now, he’ll get an additional year tacked onto the end plus another $28M guaranteed. Altogether, that means his new deal is for three years and $93M. Relatedly, instead of a $32.5M AAV hit, his average drops to $31M.
There are, apparently, some incentives that could cause everything to go up, but there’s not a lot of information out there on them just yet. We’ll let you know when we see them.
In the meantime, I can’t help but be bummed that he didn’t elect free agency. Even if this was probably always going to be the outcome, I just wanted to see what would’ve happened. Oh, well. I guess we’ll have to settle for two 26-year-old superstars both vying for the largest contract in big league history at the same time. Bummer.