Clayton Kershaw joins Team USA workouts as WBC adds final chapter

Monday at 2: 15 p. m. ET in Scottsdale, Ariz., clayton kershaw returned to a uniform again—this time in dark blue with red-and-white piping—for Team USA’s first workout ahead of the World Baseball Classic. The timing is the point: just four months after what was described as a “perfect ending, ” Kershaw is back on the field for what he framed as a one-time exception.

Kershaw’s appearance now carries added weight because Team USA’s pitching usage plans are already changing during the early buildup to the tournament. A rotation that was planned as “tremendous” is now paired with more limited availability from key arms, creating scenarios where Kershaw could be needed for more than the role he said he was promised.

Clayton Kershaw takes the field at Team USA’s first WBC workout

Kershaw stood in the desert heat Monday as Team USA ran through its first World Baseball Classic workout. He participated in pitchers’ fielding practice and shagged fly balls during batting practice, moving quickly off the mound to take a throw at first base.

He described the decision in personal terms, saying, “Feels good, ” and adding, “I wouldn’t put on a uniform for anything else. This is a special thing. ” Kershaw also called the World Baseball Classic “a bucket list thing for me. ”

Even as he worked on the field, the moment was framed as a choice against the alternative of being at home with his five kids. The day underscored that this is not simply another appearance in uniform, but a deliberate one tied to representing the United States.

Team USA pitching plans shift, creating a bigger need for Kershaw

Team USA had planned to run a rotation of Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes, Joe Ryan and Logan Webb. Now, though, Skubal says he will pitch just once in the tournament, while Skenes says he will pitch twice. Ryan, meanwhile, says he won’t pitch in the first round, at least.

Those statements create a practical “why now” for Kershaw’s participation: with limits emerging for other pitchers, he could be needed beyond the role he was promised. The role described for him was to help save the team from using current major league pitchers in blowouts or extra innings. Still, with usage narrowing elsewhere, the possibility of expanded responsibility is now part of the conversation.

A ‘perfect’ ending in Toronto wasn’t the last uniform after all

Four months earlier, on a November night in Toronto, Kershaw appeared to have reached what was characterized as the ideal closing sequence—after a farewell year in which the Dodgers won the World Series as baseball’s first back-to-back champions in 25 years. He secured a critical out, took in the celebration at the championship rally, and told fans he would be one of them the next year, shouting, “I’m going to watch, ” and adding, “just like all of you. ”

Yet Monday made clear that Toronto was not the last time he would be seen in uniform. The World Baseball Classic is the exception he is willing to make, and the possibility of high-profile matchups is already being contemplated. The last World Baseball Classic came down to Shohei Ohtani pitching to Mike Trout; this one, it was suggested, could come down to Kershaw pitching to Ohtani.

Kershaw downplayed that scenario, saying, “I think, for our country’s sake, it’s probably better if I don’t. ” He also indicated he wouldn’t duck the assignment if it comes, even while calling it unlikely.

One on-field detail already sits in the record as that hypothetical is discussed: in 11 career at-bats against Kershaw, Ohtani has no hits. For now, though, Kershaw’s Monday in Scottsdale was about being present at the start of Team USA’s preparations—and about an ending that, by his own choice, still has one more chapter.

Team USA’s next confirmed milestone is its continued World Baseball Classic preparation schedule following Monday’s opening workout, with Kershaw expected to remain in the mix as roles adjust; if additional pitchers maintain limited availability as stated, Kershaw could be asked to do more than the job he was initially promised.