Dodgers fans are totally on board with Andrew Friedman’s plea to Clayton Kershaw

Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman wants Clayton Kershaw to return to the club. No, not as a player (Kershaw's send-off in 2025 was picture-perfect); but as a member of the front office and/or scouting team.

Appearing on Foul Territory last week, Friedman made a shameless plug to recruit Kershaw back to the Dodgers. Unfortunately for Friedman and LA, Kershaw is reportedly nearing a broadcasting deal with NBC.

Clayton Kershaw's days as a Dodgers front office ace will have to wait

Kershaw's imminent deal with NBC could have him back at Dodger Stadium in 2026, calling Opening Day for the squad he just helped win a second consecutive World Series.

It'll definitely be weird for Dodgers fans to hear Kershaw behind the booth so soon after watching him play a legitimate role on the diamond. Friedman was keen during his Foul Territory segment to remind viewers that Kershaw was second on the Dodgers in regular-season innings pitched (behind only Yoshinobu Yamamoto) in 2025. This speaks to LA's injury troubles, sure, but also to Kershaw's durability and enduring value throughout the final months of his career.

Friedman noted that the Dodgers will miss Kershaw's competitive fire in the clubhouse, but also the fact that the future Hall of Famer was still "really good" at age 37.

Yes, we're fairly certain Kershaw could still pull off another season in Major League Baseball if he really wanted to (Friedman sounds confident of it, too). But again, Kershaw couldn't have departed from the sport as a player in more epic fashion. Everything felt graceful and historic about his exit, and it should remain that way for a figure of his caliber.

And for fans wanting one more glimpse of the legendary southpaw in action, tune in to the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

Moving forward, Kershaw's contributions to the game will come from the broadcasting booth, and if Friedman gets his way, from the front office, as well.

There's no doubt Kershaw would be an excellent player evaluator, for one. He's been around the highest levels of the game for decades at this point, and his blunt (often hilarious) approach to communicating the basic truth of things would serve him well in delineating prospects during front office briefings with people like Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes.

Kershaw is so embedded in the fabric of the Dodgers' franchise that it would feel wrong for him not to stick around the organization in some working capacity in the future. Friedman is hoping for it, and Dodgers fans have every reason to, as well.