The Los Angeles Dodgers brought back a key member of their bullpen earlier this month when they re-signed Evan Phillips to a one-year, $6.5 million contract.
The right-hander became a free agent after the team non-tendered him at the start of the offseason, which opened up a roster spot. At the time of the move, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman suggested the team would still attempt to work out a new deal with Phillips.
But on the open market, the 31-year-old had to entertain the possibility of signing elsewhere and revealed that several teams checked in on him before he re-upped with the Dodgers, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“It was different,” he said. “It was my first crack at free agency, at least on this side of things. Being a minor-league free agent was probably less attractive to most teams. Yeah, it was different.
“It was nice to gauge interest. Plenty of teams came to kick the tires and check in and see how my rehab was going, how I was feeling. Then when push comes to shove and we started to narrow it down to what we wanted as a player and told my agent what we were going to look for, that narrowed it down too. It was interesting.”
Phillips appreciated being valued by other clubs and now is focused on getting back to being an impact reliever for the Dodgers:
“It was nice to see that I was being measured up to that way, that people sought me out as that kind of impact player,” he said. “I have all the confidence in the world with a new elbow that I’ll be able to get back there, hopefully with a longer runway too. Unfortunately, that’s how the conversation started out last year, that I wasn’t going to be able to pitch like that for too long. Being reconstructed and repaired in there, giving myself some runway for years to come is exciting. It was hard in the moment, but the long-term outlook led me down that path.”
Phillips is entering his sixth season with the Dodgers since being claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021.
He had a delayed start to the 2025 season due to the right shoulder issue that prevented him from pitching in the 2024 World Series.
Phillips managed to pitch in just seven games before going back on the injured list due to right forearm discomfort that ultimately led to season-ending Tommy John surgery.
When healthy, Phillips has proven that he can be one of the most effective relief pitchers in the National League. He owns a 2.22 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 10.2 strikeouts per nine in 201 games with the Dodgers.
Evan Phillips expected to return in July
Phillips is still recovering from Tommy John surgery and likely won’t return to the mound until sometime in July. Pitchers typically have a recovery time of 12-18 months after they undergo the procedure.
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