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Dodgers president on Clayton Kershaw's contract: 'We expect to work together for a long time'

Mike Oz

There are a lot of questions about the Los Angeles Dodgers as we head into the final week of the regular season. Can they win the NL West? If not, can they secure a wild-card spot? Are they a good enough team to sneak into the playoffs, get hot and go on a run?

There’s a bigger question hovering around these Dodgers, though, one that’s been there all season and that, in the grand scheme of things, might be even bigger than a wild-card berth.

What’s going to happen with Clayton Kershaw? The Dodgers’ ace, who is in the middle of a seven-year, $215 million contract, can opt out of it after this season. He could hit the open market for the first time in his baseball career and see what it’s like to be wooed by someone not wearing blue. Or he can decide he wants a new contract with the Dodgers. Or he can say, “I’m happy making ~$35 million each of the next two seasons.”

Nobody knows what Kershaw is thinking and how this could play out for the Dodgers. But one of the best people to ask is Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who is this week’s guest on the Yahoo Sports MLB Podcast. Friedman has a wide-ranging chat with our Tim Brown, hitting on a number of topics, such as what it’s like to build a contender and watch them chase down a playoff spot in September and what could happen with Kershaw.

“The relationship, the communication is really strong,” Friedman told the Yahoo Sports MLB Podcast. “[Kershaw] talked about this in spring training: The conversations that will be had will be private. His mindset and focus is on going out and helping us win a World Series. Obviously, we have a good relationship with [Kershaw’s agent] Casey Close as well. I think it’s something that from both sides’ perspective, we hope-slash-expect to work together for a long time and win a lot of championships together.”

There’s a lot more where that came from, so check out the full episode. You can find our entire podcast and interview with Friedman by clicking over to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or Acast. Or you can listen in the player below.

Elsewhere on this week’s podcast

Beyond our interview with Friedman, here’s what you can expect on this week’s Yahoo Sports MLB podcast:

• Postseason: Who’s legit? Who’s not? How will the American League playoff picture shake out? (8:00)
• Which NL team will be left out when it’s all said and done (25:00)
• A case for Alex Bregman being the breakout player of the year (29:00)
• A new segment called “One Hot Minute” starring Yahoo Sports’ Liz Roscher (33:00)
• Jeff Passan reveals his ridiculous karaoke song of choice (44:00)
• Tim Brown sits down with Dodgers’ president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman (45:00)

Once again, you can find the show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Acast and where ever you find podcasts. If you dig what we’re doing, we’d appreciate your ratings and reviews to help the show grow.

Will Clayton Kershaw be back in a Dodgers uniform in 2019? (AP)
Will Clayton Kershaw be back in a Dodgers uniform in 2019? (AP)

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Mike Oz is a writer at Yahoo Sports. Contact him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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