LOS ANGELES (AP) ¡ªs in decline. He¡¯s eager to prove the doubters wrong while wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform.The ace agreed to a $93 million  http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-nick-markakis-jers ey , three-year contract Friday after initially opting out of his previous deal and choosing free agency.¡°There¡¯s been a lot of people saying that I¡¯m in decline or not going to be as good as I once was,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to proving a lot of people wrong with that.¡±Kershaw opted out of a $215 million, seven-year contract that had two seasons remaining at a total of $65 million. Signed in January 2014, it called for salaries of $32 million next year and $33 million in 2020.The new deal involves a $23 million signing bonus, payable in equal installments on June 30 in each of the next three years, and annual salaries of $23,333,333.¡°I wanted to stay here, so financial, everything aside, it was more valuable to me to just stay here,¡± he said.Also Friday Julio Teheran Jersey , the Dodgers made $17.9 million qualifying offers to two of their other free agents: pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu and catcher Yasmani Grandal.Kershaw gets an additional $28 million in guaranteed money. The new agreement includes $4 million annually in performance bonuses, in four $1 million increments for 24, 26, 28 and 30 games started, which could raise the deal¡¯s value to $105 million over three years.The left-hander also can earn award bonuses of $1.5 million for winning the NL Cy Young Award or $500,000 for finishing second or third in the voting.Kershaw, his wife Ellen and their two young children make their offseason home in the Dallas area, and if the Texas Rangers had had a winning season ¡°it would have been something to consider for sure,¡± he said.¡°It really wasn¡¯t as much of a question for me this time around,¡± he said. ¡°My kiddos love it here. Ellen loves it here. I love it here. I love the team here, and there¡¯s not many opportunities that meet all the criteria that Ellen and I would be looking for. And myself personally, a chance to win every single year  http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-nick-markakis-jers ey , it doesn¡¯t come around like this in LA very often.¡±The money designated a signing bonus will not be subject to state income because Texas does not have a state income tax.Winner of the NL Cy Young in 2011, ¡¯13 and ¡¯14, Kershaw was limited to 26 starts this year because of a back injury and went 9-5 with a 2.73 ERA while striking out 155. The Dodgers lost in the World Series for the second straight season, with Kershaw taking the loss in Sunday¡¯s season-ending Game 5 defeat to Boston. His average fastball velocity dropped by 2 mph in the past year to 91 mph.¡°I plan on getting back to that level that I was at,¡± he said. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of guys older than me, and there¡¯s a lot of guys with more innings than me in the big leagues that are still maintaining their velocity.¡±A herniated disk in his back sidelined him in 2016. He had a less significant back problem this year and a shoulder issue.¡°No more DL time,¡± he said. ¡°From there, hopefully the getting people out thing will take care of itself.¡±At 30, Kershaw has experienced a fastball velocity decrease, and he missed time this season because of two stints on the disabled.¡°While I did have a little bit of a back issue this year, it wasn¡¯t very significant. I missed more time this year because of the shoulder,¡± he said. ¡°I really believe that for three years I can be just as good as I ever have been. And I¡¯m not saying I can¡¯t be good past that. But that¡¯s as long as I was willing to commit to right now.¡±Kershaw remains the face of the franchise and his dedicated work habits have filtered down to the younger pitchers on the staff.¡°He¡¯s made as much of an impact as you can on an organization in terms of the success we¡¯ve had David Justice Jersey ,¡± Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations, said Thursday.Kershaw has a career 153-69 regular-season record with a 2.39 ERA in 318 games but it¡¯s in the postseason where his numbers drop. He¡¯s 9-10 with a 4.32 ERA. He gave up four runs in seven innings in Game 5 of the World Series.¡°Winning is still the most important thing for me,¡± he said. TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ¡ª Yankees reliever Dellin Betances has inflammation in his right shoulder and will start the regular season on the injured list.New York general manager Brian Cashman said Betances has an MRI on Tuesday after the 6-8, 265-pound right-hander lacked velocity in his fastball.¡°He¡¯s had a history in the past of slow starting, but this was a little bit more longer and more significant than we recalled,¡± Cashman said.Betances, who normally reached the upper 90s, has topped at 92 or 93 mph throughout spring training.He curtailed his offseason throwing program awaiting the birth of his child and was given permission to report a few days late for spring training.¡°I feel like I was trying to rush it,¡± Betances said. ¡°I just felt like I was behind the whole time. I¡¯m not too concerned because I think it was just more for caution.¡±Betances said he will not throw for three to five days.¡°We need to give him a timeout, hit him with an anti-inflammatory so we can restart that clock  http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-nick-markakis-jers ey ,¡± Cashman said.Betances went 4-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 66 games last season.¡°Not the end of the world to have him miss a little bit of time and save some innings over the course of a long season,¡± Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. ¡°We¡¯re obviously going to need him and count on him in a big way.¡±New York has a deep bullpen with Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, Adam Ottavino and Chad Green. Left-hander Stephen Tarpley is among the candidates to take Betances¡¯ roster spot.At least seven Yankees will be on the injured list when New York opens the regular season against the Baltimore Orioles on March 28: Betances, starting pitchers Luis Severino, CC Sabathia and Jordan Montgomery, outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Aaron Hicks, and shortstop Didi Gregorius.Exploring options to help fill the void with Severino and Sabathia sidelined, Green served an opener and allowed a run in the first inning before rotation candidate Luis Cessa went four scoreless innings in a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.Tampa Bay extensively used relievers as part of opener and bullpen games last season because of rotation injuries en route to a 90-72 record.¡°It¡¯s just another thing you can throw at a different team,¡± Green said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say every team is capable of doing it, but it seems like our bullpen is deep enough where we¡¯re able to cover some innings. For us, I think it makes sense. It¡¯s worked in the past for some teams. Obviously it worked for Tampa last year.¡±Severino Scott Kazmir Jersey , out with right shoulder inflammation, will not be available until May at the earliest. Sabathia is likely to miss the first week or two as he recovers from an offseason that included knee surgery and the insertion of a stent after a blockage was found in an artery from his heart.Severino is set to resume playing catch Wednesday, while Sabathia is scheduled for his first minor league game Thursday.The Yankees agreed Monday to a minor league contract with 33-year-old left-hander Gio Gonzalez, who arrived in camp Tuesday and passed his physical. He could pitch in a game as soon as Saturday.Masahiro Tanaka heads a rotation that includes James Paxton and J.A. Happ. Cessa, Jonathan Loaisiga and Domingo German are competing for two open rotation spots.SPECIAL PITCHAbbey Burns, older sister of Yankees OF Billy Burns, threw the ceremonial first pitch. She has also done it at one of his games at Mercer College and Tuesday marked the seventh time with different pro teams Billy has been with. Abbey has competed in the Special Olympics in both equestrian and swimming.RAYS REPORTTampa Bay two-way minor leaguer Brendan McKay is scheduled to be the starting pitcher in Thursday¡¯s game against Atlanta. ¡°That will be exciting for all of us to get to watch,¡± Rays manager Kevin Cash said. ¡­ Opening day starter Blake Snell will make his final spring training start Friday in a minor league game. ¡­ 3B Matt Duffy (hamstring) could play Thursday.