The rich Los Angeles Dodgers pitching staff is going to get even richer.
Former closer Evan Phillips is closing in on his return to Los Angeles after he struck out one and allowed one hit in 2/3 of an inning Sunday.
Phillips has not pitched in the majors since 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL in his right elbow in May 2025. But he is nearing his return to a bullpen that is in the top-10 in relievers’ ERA (3.73) through the first half of the major-league season.
The Dodgers (54-30) are on top of the NL West by 10 games over the San Diego Padres. They have the best record in the National League by 3.5 games over the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves.
Evan Phillips is Close to Returning to the Dodgers
GettyEvan Phillips has not pitched in the majors since May 2025.
Phillips was the Dodgers’ closer in 2022-23, where he posted a sub-2 ERA in 126 appearances and locked down 26 saves.
Fans have been waiting for Phillips’ return, since he has made 10 appearances for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City. He has a 2.25 ERA and cleared an important bar last week by pitching in consecutive days.
But Phillips’ return is imminent after he cleared one final hurdle Sunday against Reno. Phillips finished the sixth inning by striking out Danny Seretti then sat down and got back up to face two batters to start the seventh inning.
Adding another marquee arm to the Dodgers bullpen can only help, since Blake Treinen and Edwin Diaz each is on the injured list with Phillips. Luckily, Tanner Scott (11 saves, 2.10 ERA in 36 games) has been lights out in his second year in Dodger Blue.
Evan Phillips Will Give the Dodgers Bullpen a New Look
GettyEvan Phillips is one of the few right-handed relievers available to manager Dave Roberts’ bullpen.
The Dodgers have a unique bullpen at the moment in that they seem to have too many lefties.
Scott, Alex Vesia and Jack Dreyer are all left-handed, and they make up about 60% of Los Angeles’ high-leverage relief group.
Of course, Diaz and Treinen are both right-handed, but they are unavailable. But the Dodgers are missing right-handed relievers to match up against righty hitters like Fernando Tatis, Manny Machado, Ronald Acuna Jr., or any of the other elite NL righty hitters the Dodgers could see down the stretch or in the postseason.
So Phillips’ return will give LA more balance from its bullpen, especially with his career 10.4 strikeouts-per-nine innings rate. Right-handers have a .207 batting average and a .601 OPS in his 575 plate appearances against in his major-league career.
Plus, Phillips has proven capable of pitching the ninth inning, even if the Dodgers would rather not have him do so on a regular basis given Scott’s dominance. Phillips has 46 saves in his big-league career, and he had 18 in 2024 despite being unseated by Scott during the 2024 offseason.
His presence will only add more depth and therefore more opportunity for the Dodgers to continue their pursuit of becoming MLB’s first team to three-peat since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees.
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