Clayton Kershaw has ridden off into the sunset as an unlikely back-to-back champion. Normally, athletes who linger in their respective sports do not receive the fairytale ending they were promised as children.
As players have started to announce whether they will participate in the World Baseball Classic, while sifting through old essays for follow-up, I noticed something I had written about Clayton Kershaw two years ago.
If Kershaw wants to play in the WBC, now is the time.
Kershaw was stymied from participating in 2023’s World Baseball Classic due to
an insurance issue. Namely, due to his injury history, no one would insure Kershaw’s contract in the unfortunate circumstances of new-Dodger Edwin Diaz back in 2023.
With Kershaw’s retirement, the insurance problem is now moot. MLB player contracts are guaranteed and as a retired dad, Kershaw’s time is his own. While Kershaw is under no obligation to anyone apart from his family to do anything at the moment, if he wanted to call Manager Mark DeRosa and say, “Hey, I want to play baseball for my country,” now is the opportunity.
Granted, Kershaw has likely settled into Dad mode, helping his wife, Ellen, and embracing life at home with his family. That said, the Kershaws are expecting their fifth child in early 2026. No one would fault Kershaw for staying at home or enjoying retirement instead of playing for Team USA at the 2026 WBC.
Still, Kershaw was animated on the subject back in 2023:
“I’m not going to be able to play in the WBC. It’s super disappointing. We tried a lot of different things. All sides really tried to make it work,” Kershaw said Friday. “Nothing is wrong with me. It just didn’t work out. I really wanted to do it. I really wanted to be a part of that group. It was probably my last chance to get to do it, so I really wanted to do it, but it just didn’t work out for a number of reasons. Disappointing, but it’s okay. I’ll be ready for the season.”
The opportunity is likely there if he wants it.
Other Dodgers bowing in and out
As has been reported elsewhere, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will play for Team Japan in the upcoming WBC, while Roki Sasaki will not participate. Will Smith will play for Team USA behind Cal Raleigh.
Whether Ohtani will embrace his Two-Way Player status or simply hit is probably the most significant question mark of the WBC. Dave Roberts has previously publicly discussed the discussion with the Associated Press:
“I don’t want to be dismissive of what it means to them representing their country,” Roberts said. “I know the organization doesn’t but I do think that the conversations need to be had, will be had, as far as what each individual is taking on and whatever role that they might be taking on and what potential costs there might be. … But you can’t debate the emotion, what a player might feel of this potential opportunity.”
Mookie Betts announced to Adin Ross on the Kick streaming platform that he would not participate under fear of pain of divorce in the upcoming WBC due to a likely schedule conflict with the birth of his third child. Why Mookie Betts and other ballplayers are interacting with someone like Ross is a larger question for another day.
Freddie Freeman’s status for Team Canada is in doubt, per Greg Hamilton and Ernie Whitt of Baseball Canada, as reported by Ben Nicholson-Smith.
Freeman is currently dealing with both the wear and tear of the successful championship defense and an undisclosed health issue. Freeman has played for Team Canada since the 2017 WBC tournament.
Last month, two weeks after the World Series, Kiké Hernández announced on his Instagram account that he underwent left elbow surgery, which would preclude his participation with Team Puerto Rico for the upcoming tournament.
“I played [until], basically, I felt like I couldn’t even hold the bat anymore,” Hernández said upon his return from the IL. “And I mean, it was kind of dumb on my end. But I’ve always felt that if I feel like I could play, I’m not going to go on the IL. By the time we went in for the MRI, it was a little too late.”
We will continue to monitor whether additional players (current or retired) opt to participate in the World Baseball Classic and will update accordingly.
