There's no in between when it comes to Clayton Kershaw's return to the 2025 Dodgers

Clayton Kershaw made his last rehab start in Triple-A on Sunday to rather lukewarm effect, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks across four innings. It lines him up for his season debut this coming Sunday, for the Dodgers' series finale against the Angels at Dodger Stadium.

This is, by now, a familiar situation for Kershaw, who made his 2024 debut after the All-Star break following a shoulder surgery. His rehab has actually managed to go swimmingly this year, without all of the hiccups and interruptions from 2024, and he'll be coming back under what are becoming typical circumstances for the Dodgers: to a rotation depleted by injury.

But the Kershaw that stepped onto the mound seven times for the Dodgers last year before he ended up back on the IL was rarely the Kershaw that fans have come to know. He threw one scoreless six-inning start, but his last appearance of the year lasted only one inning, and he gave up three runs on three hits (including a homer), a walk, and a hit by pitch.

There are as many reasons to be optimistic about his return this year as there are reasons to be pessimistic. When he comes back, he'll either save the Dodgers rotation from themselves or confirm that he'll never be the pitcher he used to be.

Clayton Kershaw's nearing return to Dodgers can only go one of two ways

Kershaw is in his age 37 season, but hasn't had a year not complicated by injury since 2019, when he threw almost 180 innings for a 3.03 ERA. He was still pitching well in 2022 and 2023, but his years were starting to get to him.

When Kershaw was on last year, he recalled his Cy Young and MVP-winning years easily and reminded fans why the Dodgers will never turn him away as long as he wants to come back. When he was off, it just felt hard to witness the sharp decline of an inevitable Hall of Famer.

Kershaw is clearly determined to come back and meaningfully contribute, especially in the postseason. It's why he came back last year, despite some fears that he'd want to wrap up his career in his native Texas, and why he came back for this year, after his chances of pitching in October were ruined by health issues. He doesn't need to return to his 2011-2014 prime, but he needs to show flashes of what's always made him great if he wants to tangibly help the team this season.