Forward of his closing season beneath membership management, and along with his 2026 wage anticipated to high greater than $6 million by way of arbitration, reliever Evan Phillips was not tendered a contract for subsequent yr by the Dodgers on Friday, however president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman mentioned the crew continues to be fascinated by re-signing him as he recovers from Tommy John surgical procedure.
“We had a number of back and forth discussions with Evan and his agent,” Friedman mentioned by way of textual content. “It is challenging with him coming off surgery, so he is going to take some time and look to sign after he throws off the mound when his rehab allows. Evan has been a big part of our past success and we will continue the conversation about bringing him back. We respect that he is taking this time to decide what is best for him and his family.”
Friday’s choice — which can make Phillips a free agent — displays the uncertainty across the pitcher’s standing for subsequent season, following the Tommy John process he had final June.
Phillips’ restoration course of is anticipated to stretch not less than into the early a part of subsequent yr. How a lot he’ll be capable of pitch in 2026 stays unclear.
Due to that, the Dodgers confronted a choice forward of MLB’s non-tender deadline Friday: Preserve Phillips on the roster and pay him the $6.1 million or in order that MLB Commerce Rumors projected he would obtain by way of the arbitration course of. Or reduce him unfastened and try and re-sign him (prone to a lesser wage) this offseason.
The membership picked the latter. Now, solely time will inform whether or not Phillips’ productive tenure in Los Angeles will proceed.
Phillips, 31, has been a key a part of the Dodgers’ bullpen for the reason that crew plucked him off waivers close to the tip of the 2021 season.
In 2022, he was one of many high relievers in baseball, posting a 1.14 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 63 innings. He had a 2.05 ERA and 24 saves the next season, earlier than regressing to a 3.62 mark in 2024.
Regardless of that decline, the right-hander nonetheless performed a vital position within the membership’s 2024 World Sequence run, pitching 6⅔ scoreless innings that postseason earlier than lacking the World Sequence with a shoulder damage.
That damage, which Phillips later mentioned included a tear behind his rotator cuff, prompted him to overlook the early weeks of this previous season.
Phillips ultimately made his 2025 season debut on April 19, however logged solely seven appearances (all of them scoreless) earlier than occurring the injured listing in early Might with forearm discomfort. On the time, Phillips’ hope was that the IL stint was solely a “precautionary” measure and that he would be capable of return later within the season.
As an alternative, his forearm ache lingered. And by the tip of Might, the complete severity of his damage had turn out to be frustratingly clear.
Phillips underwent his Tommy John process, which generally comes with a 12-18 month restoration timeline, on June 3.
“[His arm] wasn’t really responding,” common supervisor Brandon Gomes mentioned on the time. “We felt like this could be a possibility. So as he got deeper into the process and it wasn’t really getting better, the decision to do it was pretty much evident with our information.”
Phillips did start throwing once more on Nov. 5, he introduced on Instagram. The Dodgers would nonetheless like for him to be a part of the combination of their bid for a World Sequence three-peat in 2026.
Now, nonetheless, it is going to take a brand new contract to get that performed.
Along with Phillips, the Dodgers additionally determined to not tender a contract to 27-year-old pitcher Nick Frasso on Friday. Frasso, a former high prospect who struggled in triple-A in his return from a shoulder surgical procedure this previous season, had but to make his MLB debut.
