The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Evan Phillips on the 15-day injured list due to a right rotator cuff strain.
Phillips is among four relievers beginning the season on the Dodgers injured list. Overall, the Dodgers are starting the season with nine players — all pitchers — on the IL.
Brusdar Graterol and Michael Grove are the only two who were placed on the 60-day injured list. Those were corresponding moves to the Dodgers selecting the contracts of Luis Garcia and Roki Sasaki.
It quickly became evident during Spring Training that Phillips would not on the Dodgers roster to begin the season. He and Michael Kopech were behind in camp because of respective injuries they dealt with dating back to the playoffs.
Phillips revealed he suffered a partial tear in the back of the rotator cuff in his right shoulder. The injury prevented him from being on the roster for the World Series, but the full extent was not discovered until an MRI in December.
Because Phillips was limited by the shoulder injury, he was not able to have a normal throwing program during the offseason.
Phillips is coming off an inconsistent season that saw him go 5-1 with 18 saves, a 3.62 ERA, 3.28 FIP, 1.19 WHIP and 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings over 61 appearances.
The 30-year-old particularly struggled after the All-Star break as he posted a 4.68 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 30 games. Phillips rebounded in August but had a rough finish to the season as he posted a 5.40 ERA over his last 11 appearances.
Phillips again bounced back during the National League Division Series and Championship Series with a combined 6.2 scoreless innings before suffering the injury.
When will Evan Phillips return?
While the Dodgers took a cautious approach with Phillips during Spring Training, both because of the right shoulder injury and his workload last year, he made recent strides and it’s believed he could join the team as soon as April.
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