Forward of his closing season below membership management, and together with his 2026 wage anticipated to high greater than $6 million via arbitration, reliever Evan Phillips was not tendered a contract for subsequent 12 months by the Dodgers on Friday, however president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman mentioned the group continues to be all in favour of re-signing him as he recovers from Tommy John surgical procedure.
“We had various forwards and backwards discussions with Evan and his agent,” Friedman mentioned by way of textual content. “It’s difficult with him coming off surgical procedure, so he’s going to take a while and look to signal after he throws off the mound when his rehab permits. Evan has been an enormous a part of our previous success and we are going to proceed the dialog about bringing him again. We respect that he’s taking this time to resolve what’s finest for him and his household.”
Friday’s choice — which is able to 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 at the least into the early a part of subsequent 12 months. How a lot he’ll be capable to pitch in 2026 stays unclear.
Due to that, the Dodgers confronted a choice forward of MLB’s non-tender deadline Friday: Maintain Phillips on the roster and pay him the $6.1 million or in order that MLB Commerce Rumors projected he would obtain via the arbitration course of. Or minimize him free and try and re-sign him (more likely 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 group 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 an important position within the membership’s 2024 World Collection run, pitching 6⅔ scoreless innings that postseason earlier than lacking the World Collection with a shoulder damage.
That damage, which Phillips later mentioned included a tear behind his rotator cuff, precipitated him to overlook the early weeks of this previous season.
Phillips finally 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 to return later within the season.
As a substitute, his forearm ache lingered. And by the tip of Might, the total severity of his damage had change into 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 actually responding,” basic supervisor Brandon Gomes mentioned on the time. “We felt like this may very well be a risk. In order he bought deeper into the method and it wasn’t actually getting higher, the choice to do it was just about evident with our info.”
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 combo of their bid for a World Collection three-peat in 2026.
Now, nonetheless, it would take a brand new contract to get that carried out.
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.
