Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw mum on extension talks
PEORIA, Ariz. -- Five days before his opening-day start, Clayton Kershaw maintained his previously stated position that he didn’t want to negotiate a contract extension while the season started.
Kershaw wouldn’t say if he thought a new deal could be reached by April 1.
“Never know,” he said.
Kershaw wouldn’t even acknowledge that there have been any talks.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said.
Kershaw’s agents, Casey Close and J.D. Smart, visited the Dodgers camp last week to watch another of their clients, Zack Greinke, pitch in a minor league game. At the time, Close and Smart weren’t in active talks with the Dodgers about a new deal for Kershaw, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Kershaw is under contract for $11 million this year and will be eligible for salary arbitration next year. He will be eligible for free agency after the 2014 season.
Kershaw used his final spring start on Wednesday as a tuneup for his opening-day assignment. Facing the Seattle Mariners over three innings, he was charged with three runs and five hits. Two of the runs came on a first-inning home run by Michael Morse.
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