Clayton Kershaw must return to the Dodgers when he sees fit.

Starting pitcher and current free agent Clayton Kershaw is now a free agent heading into this off-season.

The 33-year-old left-hander from Texas reached the end of his contract signed in 2019 and is currently at home recovering from his arm injury suffered this season in late September.

“We’ve made it very clear that if Kersh wants to come back, he will always have a spot with what he’s meant to this organization, not just looking back but with what we think he can do for us next year.” President of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers Andrew Friedman said when asked about the Dodgers not offering a qualifying offer to the Dodgers ace.

Friedman is aware that Kershaw is still recovering from his injury and allowing the longtime Dodger to take his time with the decision on the future of his playing time whether that be with Los Angeles or his hometown ballclub the Texas Rangers.

Multiple reports have said that the Texas Rangers are aggressively going to pursue Clayton Kershaw in the free agency window.

The Rangers can offer him a chance to play for the team that is right near his home in Texas while offering him the money he is looking for.

For any free agent, this is definitely enticing playing for a team in which your family lives and making money doing what you love playing close to home.

The Rangers are looking for veteran pitchers for their rotation and having a Cy Young-winning arm with tons of playoff experience certainly fits the bill.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are aware that Texas has a shot at winning Kershaw over but he has built so much in Los Angeles, it would be hard to imagine him in any other uniform other than the Dodger white and blue.

In his 13 years with the club, he has won three Cy Youngs, thrown one no-hitter, and won a World Series with the team creating everlasting memories here L.A.

While getting the other key members of this Dodgers team is the story of this off-season, Kershaw should be at the top of the list.

It is not completely out of the blue that Kershaw would be willing to take the hometown discount and join the Texas Rangers but with what he has accomplished in Los Angeles, Clayton Kershaw is a Dodger for life.