Clayton Kershaw contract extension with Dodgers gains ‘mutual interest’

Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said on Thursday that there is “mutual interest” between the organization and pitcher Clayton Kershaw on a potential contract extension.

Colletti said that talks between Kershaw and the organization would remain private, but that there was urgency on both sides toward getting a deal done.

“This is not going to be a daily discussion point for us publicly,” Colletti said, according to The Los Angeles Times. “But there is a mutual interest.”

Kershaw, one of the best pitchers in the majors, has one year remaining on a two-year, $19 million contract. He will be arbitration-eligible for the final time next offseason, and the Dodgers would like to get him locked up to a long-term deal.

He could be in line for a contract that exceeds the one reportedly given on Thursday to Felix Hernandez, who agreed to a contract that paid him the most ever for a pitcher.

Kershaw finished second to R.A. Dickey in Cy Young Award voting this season after winning the prize in 2011. He has a 2.79 ERA through his first five seasons, including a 2.53 ERA last season.