Evan Phillips was held out of the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees, a matchup that resulted in the Los Angeles Dodgers winning a title.
The 30-year-old had been stellar in both the National League Division Series and Championship Series before sustaining a small tear in the rotator cuff of his right shoulder. Scans did show there was no significant damage to the area.
Phillips believed that if he had a bit more time to rest, he would’ve been available to pitch in the World Series, but the nature of the postseason schedule didn’t allow for that.
Being a stalwart in the Dodgers bullpen for a few years now, Phillips noted the difficulty involved in not being able to contribute on the biggest stage, per Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“It was really, really hard. Fortunately those games went really well for us. But I’ll tell you what, sitting down in the bullpen with tennis shoes watching a spot for myself to go in the game and watching another guy go in … they all did unbelievably.”
After their usage in the NLDS and NLCS, the rest of the relievers rallied around one another for 25 innings over the five-game Fall Classic. Although their overall ERA wasn’t as stellar, they stepped up when necessary.
In Game 5 after Jack Flaherty was forced out of the game at just 1.1 innings, Anthony Banda, Ryan Brasier, Michael Kopech, Alex Vesia, Brusdar Graterol, Blake Treinen and Walker Buehler combined for 7.2 innings, allowing just two earned runs.
When will Evan Phillips pitch in 2025?
The shoulder issue forced Phillips to modify his offseason plans from his usual throwing program. That delay makes it unlikely Phillips will be ready to pitch in the Opening Series when the Dodgers travel to Tokyo to face off with the Chicago Cubs.
Phillips has said that the Dodgers don’t intend to rush anything, as they bolstered their options with a few high-leverage options during the offseason.
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