Los Angeles Dodgers star pitcher Clayton Kershaw says he wouldn't have come back if he wasn't healthy

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Retirement was never a realistic option for Clayton Kershaw, so long as his left arm cooperated.

«Once I got healthy, it was no secret — I was either gonna go play in Texas or stay here,» Kershaw said from the Los Angeles Dodgers' spring training facility on Sunday afternoon, moments after his one-year, $17 million contract was finalized.

Kershaw, 33, spent most of last season's second half fighting through nondescript soreness around his left elbow. He was placed on the injured list in early July, suffered a setback when he initially rushed through his rehab, then worked his way back only to get shut down days before the playoffs.

When the offseason began, Kershaw didn't know if his health would allow him to keep pitching. He didn't pick up a baseball until the start of January, but his arm felt good as he navigated through the early stages of his throwing program. The Texas Rangers, the team he grew up rooting for, expressed strong interest, and a desire to play near his full-time home became a real draw. But his ties to the Dodgers, and the perpetual opportunity to chase championships, ultimately won out.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman called Kershaw as soon as Major League Baseball's lockout was lifted at around 4 p.m. PT and re-iterated the team's desire to bring him back.

«Fortunately,» Friedman said, «he felt the same.»

Kershaw's contract comes with an additional $5 million in incentives and will end up in the neighborhood of the $18.4 million qualifying offer that the Dodgers declined to extend to him in November so as to not rush him into a decision.

On Friday, Kershaw and the Dodgers agreed to terms. On Sunday, Kershaw passed his physical and jogged onto one of the