UPDATE (April 19, 11:25 a.m. PT): Los Angeles Dodgers activated Evan Phillips on Saturday as a corresponding move to placing Blake Treinen on the 15-day injured list due to right forearm tightness.
Evan Phillips is among several pitchers currently on a rehab assignment for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he has made good progress with six appearances for Triple-A Oklahoma City over the past couple of weeks.
He pithed on consecutive days for the first time during this rehab assignment recently, which was an important benchmark for his impending activation.
Phillips is scheduled to make another appearance for Oklahoma City this weekend, after which he should then join the Dodgers roster for their two-game series against the Chicago Cubs, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
Right-hander Evan Phillips is scheduled to make another rehab appearance with Oklahoma City on Saturday. If all goes well, Phillips will then join the Dodgers in Chicago and be activated from the IL before the two-game series against the Cubs beginning on Tuesday.
Phillips has yet to make an appearance for the Dodgers this season, as he has been dealing with a right rotator cuff injury that kept him off the Dodgers World Series roster in 2024.
The Dodgers classified Phillips’ injury as a rotator cuff strain, but he revealed that included a torn ligament in the back of his shoulder.
Phillips finished with a 3.62 ERA, 3.28 FIP and 1.19 WHIP in 54.2 innings last season, which statistically was a down year compared to his two excellent seasons with the Dodgers in 2022 and 2023. Walks were the main issue in 2024, as his walk rate was nearly two percentage points higher than 2023. Phillips also saw a slight dip in his strikeout percentage.
However, he stepped up when it mattered most with 6.2 desperately-needed scoreless innings for the Dodgers’ pitching staff across the National League Division Series and Championship Series.
Evan Phillips’ return will reinforce Dodgers bullpen
Phillips’ impending arrival comes at the perfect time for a Dodgers bullpen that has had by far the heaviest workload in the Majors this season with 89.2 innings thrown.
The Dodgers are 14th in the Majors in terms of bullpen ERA. But that number is a bit inflated by the 15 earned runs they allowed to the Cubs on April 12, a game in which they effectively conceded by the seventh inning and had Miguel Rojas cover the final two frames.
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