Clayton Kershaw set to play for Team USA

December 19th, 2022

He's won a World Series title and an MVP Award, and his shelves are loaded with Cy Young Award trophies. Now, Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw wants to add a World Baseball Classic title to his menagerie. On Monday, Team USA announced that Kershaw was "All In" for the tournament this spring.

Though he may not throw as many innings in a season as he once did, Kershaw was just as effective as ever last year. The left-hander was 12-3 with a 2.28 ERA in 2022 and was selected to his ninth All-Star Game appearance. Having recently re-signed with the Dodgers for the 2023 season, the 34-year-old Kershaw will look to pick up three more wins to reach 200 for his career -- in addition to helping the United States repeat in the WBC.

Rosters will be finalized later this winter, but here is how the team currently shakes out: 

C: J.T. Realmuto, Will Smith
1B: Pete Alonso, Paul Goldschmidt
2B: Trevor Story
SS: Tim Anderson, Trea Turner
3B: Nolan Arenado, Bobby Witt Jr. 
OF: Mookie Betts, Cedric Mullins, Mike Trout, Kyle Tucker
SP: Nestor Cortes, Nathan Eovaldi, Kyle Freeland, Merrill Kelly, Clayton Kershaw, Lance Lynn, Miles Mikolas, Brady Singer, Adam Wainwright, Logan Webb
RP: Daniel Bard, David Bednar, Nick Martinez, Adam Ottavino, Ryan Pressly, Dillon Tate, Devin Williams

Team USA will begin its title defense on March 11 in Phoenix, taking on Mexico, Colombia, Canada and Great Britain in Pool C.