As a winter of austerity for the Dodgers comes to a close, Clayton Kershaw is still spending five days a week with the most talented pitcher on the free-agent market.
Yu Darvish has joined Kershaw's winter-time stable of throwing partners in Dallas, building upon a friendship that began when the Dodgers acquired Darvish this summer.
Darvish has not hidden his desire to return to Los Angeles. In the aftermath of his tumultuous start in the final game of the World Series, Darvish hoped to atone for his collapse. That opportunity is still a possibility, even though the financial complications have not changed.