Image credit: ClutchPoints

Harold Reynolds drops bold statement amid Clayton Kershaw’s 3,000 K chase with Dodgers

Originally posted on MLB on ClutchPoints
By Lorenzo J Reyna | Last updated Feb 22, 2025 11:11 PM ET

The Los Angeles Dodgers watched Clayton Kershaw add two World Series rings on his decorated resume. The longtime pitcher now has one more accolade in pursuit: 3,000 career strikeouts. It’s a rare feat, even longtime MLB analyst and former player Harold Reynolds knows this.

Reynolds himself dropped a bold statement amid Kershaw’s 3,000-strikeout chase. The commentator believes Kershaw will hold this title once he makes the 3K mark.

“This might be the last guy we see break that 3,000 (strikeout) mark,” Reynolds said via MLB TV Saturday.

Those are bold words, considering Kershaw isn’t the only 30-something pitcher still left. Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves has fanned 2,414 batters in his career, and he’s still going strong at 35. Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees struck out 2,251 batters before the 2025 season, and Cole is younger at 33.

Kershaw even is walking into a far different pitching rotation. Many fans are wondering where Kershaw fits among the Dodgers’ stacked lineup of pitchers. Especially with veterans Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell on board, plus the highly-anticipated MLB debut of Rosi Sasaki on deck for 2025.

But Reynolds’ words show the legacy Kershaw created in 17 MLB seasons. Now there’s the belief no one else who takes the mound will scale the 3,000-mark.

When can Clayton Kershaw hit 3,000 K with Dodgers?

2014 NL -- Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kershaw sits at 2,968 strikeouts ahead of the March 18 Tokyo Series. He must force 32 batters to swing and miss for him to crack the 3,000-club. He’d then join Max Scherzer of the Toronto Blue Jays (3,407 career strikeouts) and Justin Verlander of the San Francisco Giants (3,416) as 3,000 K pitchers.

So when can Kershaw potentially hit the mark? The three-time Cy Young winner appears to be taking more of a backseat lately.

Kershaw got hit with injuries that bottled him to only seven starts in 2024. He posted a career-low 4.50 ERA. The Dodgers haven’t thrown him into the starting lineup for 25 games since 2019 either. Even L.A. has created its own pitch count for the aging Kershaw.

But Kershaw will be trusted for leadership among this pitching crew. Snell is another pitcher with limited 2024 starts (only 20 last season with the rival Giants). Glasnow has never scaled more than 120 total innings on the hill throughout his 10 seasons. Even Sasaki arrives with past elbow ailments from Japan in tow.

Manager Dave Roberts could pivot to resting the younger arms in the lineup — swinging the door for Kershaw to earn 20 possible starts in a 162-game schedule. That could mean Kershaw can hit the new milestone before season’s end. Regardless, there’s the belief Kershaw will become the last golden arm to surpass the rare 3,000 mark.

This article first appeared on MLB on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: