Kershaw’s Last Act: How the Dodgers Might Use Their Veteran Ace in the Shadow of Farewell

The announcement landed like a curveball in slow motion—Clayton Kershaw, a fixture of Dodgers lore, will retire at season’s end. He returns to the mound one last time not just as an icon, but as a chess piece in a playoff battle where every move is weighed in legacy, wear, and trust; where the traditional starter’s path may give way to something far more nuanced.

How do you respect a legend and still play to win?

Kershaw’s 2025 season has been one of contradictions: flashes of elite craft, mixed with moments betrayed by age and injury. He has compiled a 10–2 record, a 3.53 ERA, and pitched his 18th season all with Los Angeles. What he brings isn’t sheer speed, but mastery. As Mark Walter put it, “A truly legendary career … we know will lead to his induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame.” But the postseason asks more than history—it demands presence, durability, and timely brilliance. Can Kershaw still deliver when the margin for error vanishes?

Starter or Closer to the Fire

Dodgers’ rotation is deep but brittle; they’ve weathered injuries to key arms all season. One possible script: Kershaw returns as a starter in earlier rounds, taking lower-pressure games that still matter—games to set the tone, not carry the entire burden. Another path: he shifts to a bullpen or “piggyback-start” role, stepping in for critical middle innings or bridging to the closer when raw power falters.

There’s precedent: veterans used sparingly, strategically, so they shine when shine matters. Kershaw knows this—“I trust him,” manager Dave Roberts said, about potential postseason usage—even if it’s unclear what form that trust will take.

The Legacy in the Margins

Every pitch he throws in October will carry dual weight: the immediate and the timeless. He has thrown something like 25 complete games, 15 shutouts; his career ERA of 2.54 remains lowest among active qualifying pitchers. He just passed 3,000 strikeouts—a milestone most only dream of. But those are static echoes. The real measure may be this final dance: How he answers when the lights are brighter, the bats hotter, the pressure unforgiving.

Will he be the man they turn to when the bases are loaded? Or the voice in the dugout, guiding younger arms, steadying minds? Perhaps the greatest act would be to exist as both—presence and purpose entwined.

It’s more than a season. It’s more than stats. It’s about departure: how you leave the mound might be as defining as how you climbed onto it. Kershaw’s final innings could tell us less about the scoreboard, more about how a career becomes legend.

When the last out is recorded, will the story be the win—or the silence after his first pitch?