Clayton Kershaw agrees to seven-year, $215M contract with Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers and pitcher Clayton Kershaw have agreed to a seven-year, $215-million contact.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the deal will make Kershaw the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history. Justin Verlander’s $180-million deal with the Detroit Tigers is second.

ESPN reports that the ace has an out clause after five years.

The Dodgers had to do a deal with the 25-year-old pitcher or he would have been eligible for free agency after the 2014 season.

The Dodgers certainly didn’t want to watch the southpaw have another incredible season for them and then walk away, so they shut down that possibility with the extension.

Kershaw is a two-time Cy Young award winner, who has a 2.60 career ERA and at least 212 strikeouts in each of the past four seasons.

Not only do the Dodgers now have the ace of the pitching staff locked down for years to come, but also manager Don Mattingly, who inked a deal with the team just last week.