Tarik Skubal's praise for Clayton Kershaw emphasizes Dodgers front office's need to hire him

Clayton Kershaw has had a busy few months. He's confirmed as a member of Team USA's 2026 World Baseball Classic roster, and as an analyst on NBC/Peacock's upcoming Sunday Night Baseball coverage. Anyone who expected him to take a break after his retirement was sorely mistaken.

He's doing everything except what the Dodgers really want him to do: join the front office. Kershaw himself confirmed that he'd been invited to take a role with the team, but he politely declined. Andrew Friedman has made very public pleas asking Kershaw to come work with them.

The value he would add by staying close to the organization is obvious, but his presence alone would be a valuable marketing tool.

In an interview following the official bestowment of his second Cy Young award, Tigers ace Tarik Skubal said of his excitement for the upcoming WBC, "It'll put me in a room with one my idols, like Kershaw. I had a few brief conversations with him at the beginning of the year last year in LA and it changed my whole outlook on pitching."

Skubal will be the unquestionable top free agent after the 2026 season, and the Dodgers are already the favorites to sign him. If he does develop a rapport with Kershaw during the WBC, it would certainly help the Dodgers court him if Kershaw had a place in the front office.

Dodgers should be doing even more to get Clayton Kershaw to come work in the front office

It's unclear how long Kershaw's NBC deal will last, so the Dodgers might be out of luck for a little while, but it's a line of communication they should be (and probably are) keeping open.

The Dodgers already have plenty of players who are de facto spokesmen for the organization without having to do anything at all. Shohei Ohtani had a direct hand in the recruitment of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Hyeseong Kim, and Roki Sasaki, leading fans to fondly dub him "ShoGM."

But in the case of Skubal, it only makes sense that he puts Kershaw on a pedestal as fellow lefties. Kershaw was in the prime of his career when Skubal was in some of his most formative teenage years (14-18).

The Dodgers have a lot of stuff to sell Skubal on — first and probably foremost, the contract they'll be able to offer him — but Kershaw's presence could make a signing that much sweeter for him.