Clayton Kershaw rejoins Dodgers as special assistant

On Thursday night, the now-retired Clayton Kershaw began one new job, making his broadcast debut during NBC’s telecast of the Dodgers’ Opening Day win over the Diamondbacks.

On Friday afternoon, the future Hall of Famer announced another new –– albeit undefined –– gig that will keep him tied to the Dodgers moving forward, too.

Kershaw is set to be a special assistant to the Dodgers’ front office, telling reporters that he will “be involved somehow” with the team he spent all 18 years of his MLB playing career.

“Probably not physically here in LA,” Kershaw said. “But definitely, I’m sure I’ll watch games. I still want to be a part of the Dodgers. So if I can help in some small piece, I will.”

The news came as little surprise, given Kershaw’s deep ties to the club and the fact that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman had been openly wooing him to take some sort of post-playing-career role with the organization.

“Kersh, in case you’re listening,” Friedman said during an appearance on the “Dodgers Territory” podcast earlier this winter, “come work with us.”

While Kershaw has also joined NBC’s broadcast team –– in the network’s first year of televising regular-season MLB games in more than a quarter-century –– he is scheduled to work a light TV schedule.

On Thursday, he joined Bob Costas on NBC’s pregame show, then sat field-side during the Dodgers’ 8-2 season-opening victory over the Diamondbacks; earning rave reviews from viewers about his in-game insights.

“It’s just talking baseball,” Kershaw joked. “So if people want to hear me talk about baseball, I can do that all day. I love baseball.”

However, Kershaw’s next appearance on an NBC game, he said, won’t come until August. He will be featured on the network’s pregame shows, but his schedule for that will reportedly depend on availability.

“I would say it’s pretty part time,” Kershaw said. “You won’t see me too much on TV.”

That’s the kind of flexibility Kershaw wanted out of retirement, of course. At the end of last year, the father of five quipped he was going on a “no-plan plan” after concluding his career with a third World Series championship with the Dodgers, content to return to his home in Texas and spend time with his wife and kids.

“There’s a freedom with retirement,” he said. “If you don’t want to work out, you don’t have to. If your back hurts, it doesn’t matter. If your arm hurts, it doesn’t matter. You get to see a lot more stuff, be around for everything. So there’s a lot of great parts. It doesn’t take away from how special playing this game is, but there’s a lot of really awesome parts about being home.”

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Kershaw suited up one more time for this month’s World Baseball Classic, joining Team USA after being unable to participate in the event in 2023. But, he did not pitch in an official tournament game, and –– despite carrying a bat with him on the Dodger Stadium field Friday afternoon –– confirmed he’s had no regrets about walking away from the game at age 38.

“I have no interest in playing,” he said with a laugh. “But I like being around everybody. So it’s fun.”

Now, Kershaw will maintain some presence with Dodgers personnel, joining a group of other special assistants that includes former Dodger Chase Utley and former Twins manager Rocco Baldelli.

Kershaw reiterated he has no desire to be a coach in the future but said he’ll watch the team from afar over the season.

“I really don’t know much more after that,” he said. “We’ll see.”

On Friday, more of his focus was on that night’s pregame ring ceremony, in which he would share the field with his former Dodgers teammates one more time.

“Anytime you get to celebrate one more time with your teammates, it’s pretty special,” Kershaw said. “I know they gotta move on to this season, but I don’t have to. So I’m just gonna keep relishing it. It’ll be great.”