GLENDALE, Ariz. — The motion was unmistakable with the right foot pausing above the ground just before delivery.

Clayton Kershaw was in Dodgers’ camp on Tuesday, going through his throwing program on one of the fields at Camelback Ranch. The free-agent left-hander has agreed to a contract with the Dodgers that will become official today, the first official day of workouts for pitchers and catchers.

It is unclear when the 36-year-old future Hall of Famer will be ready to pitch in games. He underwent surgery on his left foot and knee following the end of the 2024 World Series and will be placed on the 60-day injured list as soon as his signing becomes official, an indication he is not likely to be ready to start his season with the Dodgers until late May at the earliest.

Kershaw underwent surgery on his shoulder following the 2023 season and did not pitch for the Dodgers until July last season. He made just seven starts before a chronic problem with bone spurs and ligament damage in the big toe on his left foot became too painful. He made his last start at the end of August and was not on the Dodgers’ postseason roster for any round.

Kershaw’s contract included an option for 2025 but he opted out instead, technically becoming a free agent this past winter. Both he and the Dodgers, however, made it clear he would be rejoining the team. At the parade celebrating the Dodgers’ World Series win, he proclaimed himself a “Dodger for life!”

Even as he battled through injuries the past two seasons and lost velocity on his fastball, Kershaw remains an elite-level pitcher when healthy. In 31 starts over the past two years, he is 15-7 with a 2.84 ERA.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner has 212 career wins — second to Don Sutton’s 233 in franchise history – and is just 32 strikeouts short of becoming only the 20th pitcher in MLB history with 3,000 career strikeouts.

RETURN ENGAGEMENT

The Dodgers officially announced the signing of Kiké Hernandez to a one-year, $6.5 million contract.

In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers moved right-hander Gavin Stone to the 60-day IL. Stone had shoulder surgery last October and is expected to miss the 2025 season.

A fan favorite, Hernandez returned for his second stint with the Dodgers when he was acquired at midseason in 2023 after two seasons with the Boston Red Sox. He re-signed on a one-year contract last spring and became a free agent again this winter.

Hernandez was headed to the worst season of his career through July 24 last year. He was batting .193 with a .567 OPS at that point. Over the rest of the regular season, however, he hit .280 with a .777 OPS then took it to another level in the postseason with a .294 average, .808 OPS and two home runs.

Over his 11-year career, Hernandez is a .238 hitter with a .713 OPS. In 86 postseason games, however, he has hit .278 with an .874 OPS and 15 home runs.

RELIEVER PHILLIPS STILL RECOVERING

Evan Phillips had a front row seat for the Dodgers’ World Series victory over the New York Yankees last October. He never left that seat.

“Man, those feelings that run through your body when you think it should have been you (going into the game) are really hard to deal with,” said Phillips, who was not on the Dodgers’ roster for the World Series due to a shoulder injury. “I was having a really hard time at home handling it.”

Phillips’ injury was more serious than the Dodgers let on at the time and seems likely to land him on the injured list to start the 2025 season.

The 30-year-old reliever led the Dodgers with 18 saves during the regular season last year and pitched 6? scoreless innings over five appearances in their National League Division Series and NL Championship Series victories.

But during the NLCS, he suffered a tear in his subscapularis, a tendon in the back of the shoulder, the largest muscle in the rotator cuff.

“I did not bounce back well after Game 6 (of the NLCS). I could tell something wasn’t right,” Phillips said at Camelback Ranch on Tuesday. “I felt better after a day’s rest. I took Monday off. Tuesday, I came in and felt confident about it. Played catch and it just didn’t go well.”

The next day as the Dodgers prepared to play the Yankees in the World Series, Phillips underwent an MRI which revealed the tear. He received a cortisone injection, hoping to “accelerate” the healing enough for him to pitch in the World Series. It didn’t work and Phillips sat out the most important games of the year.

“Could I have gone out there and thrown the ball? Maybe. But I wanted to make sure if I was pitching, I was in a position to help the team and I just wasn’t there,” he said. “It was really, really hard. Fortunately those games went really well for us. But I’ll tell you what, sitting down in the bullpen with tennis shoes watching a spot for myself to go in the game and watching another guy go in ... they all did unbelievably.”

Phillips said the exams of his shoulder did not show sufficient damage to require surgery but he did receive a platelet-rich plasma injection when the team returned from New York. In December, he had a follow-up MRI that showed things were “trending in the right direction” but “I think they still saw some damage in there.”

As a result, his throwing program in December was limited to medicine balls and light plyometric balls. He didn’t pick up a baseball until Jan. 1 and has only progressed to throwing long toss as camp opens this week, putting him behind schedule to be ready for the start of the season – and making him a very long shot to be ready for the games in Tokyo on March 18 and 19.

“I know they’re looking out for my best interests in the training room, the front office guys. They want to take care of me so that when I am back I’m good to go,” Phillips said.

“I’ve never been in this situation coming into a season. I’ve never been ‘off track’ for lack of a better term. I was eager to start throwing in December when I thought I felt well enough to start throwing. But got push back from the team to hold off another month just to be patient with it.

“I should be on a mound soon here. From there, chip away at it. Maybe get in some games and we’ll see where we’re at.”

With the Dodgers’ bullpen fortified by the offseason additions of Tanner Scott (a good friend of Phillips) and Kirby Yates, the Dodgers are unlikely to rush Phillips back. He understands that but tries not to look beyond each day.

“We’ll see how I progress, see how I bounce back,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a fluid progression at this point, based on how I respond. Things have been good so far. I’m just hoping that trend continues.”