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Before Wednesday night, Clayton Kershaw had pitched in 453 Major League Baseball games for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 450 of those appearances, he was the starting pitcher.
Kershaw is the best starting pitcher of his generation. He has a been a staple in the Dodgers rotation for the last 18 years, and he's got 222 career wins, 11 All-Star appearances, three Cy Young Awards, an MVP Award, and over 3,000 strikeouts to show for it.
The only small blemish on Kershaw's first-ballot Hall of Fame career is his postseason track record.
Kershaw's 4.49 postseason ERA is not in line with his regular season dominance. However, during the 2020 World Series run, Kershaw was 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA. He got the win in both World Series Game 1 and World Series Game 5.
As the Dodgers look to repeat as World Series champions in 2025 and Kershaw prepares for his already announced retirement, it wouldn't be right for Los Angeles to leave him off the playoff rsoter.
Dodgers fans and baseball at large deserve one more playoff run with Clayton Kershaw, even if that means doing something unusual and pitching him out of the bullpen.
Dave Roberts threw a wrinkle in things on Wednesday. After watching Alex Vesia and Edgardo Henriquez completely blow a 4-1 lead, Roberts turned to Kershaw to pitch the bottom of the ninth in a tie game with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The 37-year-old looked as locked in as ever. He put together an easy 1-2-3 inning and, like he always has, stepped up for the Dodgers.
1-2-3 ninth inning for Clayton Kershaw out of the bullpen! pic.twitter.com/zjdSYR3DUU
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 25, 2025
Clayton Kershaw's bullpen aggression should earn him spot on Dodgers playoff roster
Wednesday night was the first time Kershaw had pitched out of the bullpen since September 29, 2019. In doing so, he proved his worth and showed why he belongs on the postseason roster.
Clayton Kershaw was locked tf in coming out of the bullpen to pitch the ninth. Kersh pitched a scoreless frame in his first appearance in his new role.
— Doug McKain (@DMAC_LA) September 25, 2025
This man would be willing to do absolutely ANYTHING to help the Dodgers win a baseball game. pic.twitter.com/7REAQ7JNZz
Outside of Kershaw being second among Dodgers pitchers in fWAR this season (2.2) and the clear value that he can bring to the bullpen, it just wouldn't be right for Los Angeles to play their final postseason of Clayton Kershaw's career without him being on the team.
It's a no-brainer for the Dodgers front office, as the attention now turns toward defending a World Series title in the NL Wild Card Series.