The Los Angeles Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw have agreed on a seven-year, $215 million deal, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
It is the richest deal for a pitcher in Major League Baseball history, eclipsing the seven-year, $180 million contract Detroit gave Justin Verlander last winter, and his average annual salary of $30.7 million is the highest ever for any baseball player. Kershaw will also have the opportunity to become a free agent again in five years, if he chooses.
The 25-year-old Kershaw has won two of the last three National League
Cy Young Awards, as well as a Roberto Clemente Award for his charitable
work.
Kershaw went 16-9 with a 1.83 ERA and 232 strikeouts last season, his
sixth with the Dodgers. The left-hander has a 2.60 career ERA and
recorded at least 212 strikeouts in each of the past four seasons.
Kershaw had recently completed a two year, $19 million deal. He filed
for arbitration on Tuesday and could have become a free agent at the
end of this season if the club had elected to go through the arbitration
process and signed him to a one-year deal.
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