Dodgers might get key reliever back sooner than fans expected after Tommy John

The Los Angeles Dodgers non-tendered Evan Phillips at the end of the 2025 season, and it just made sense. He had undergone Tommy John in late May, and the Dodgers needed the 40-man flexibility as they got deeper into the offseason.

But Phillips has been a favorite within the Dodgers organization as one of their most successful reclamation projects of the last few years, so — much like there has been with Kiké Hernández any time he's hit free agency — an underlying expectation that the Dodgers would re-sign him always existed.

And that's exactly what they did. Phillips came back on a one-year, $6.5 million deal in February. It seemed like an overpay at the time, given the surgery. Tommy John timelines can be unpredictable, but fans assumed it was unlikely Phillips would be back until late in the 2026 season, if at all.

We were wrong. The Dodgers quietly sent him to Triple-A Oklahoma City on a rehab assignment on earlier this month, and he's since pitched three scoreless innings.

The Dodgers haven't gotten a fully healthy or exceptionally high-performing season out of Phillips since 2023, but we've seen this before. Players Phillips him and Max Muncy are shining examples of what Dodgers player development is capable of at its best, and tend to get unfathomably long leashes from the organization.

Evan Phillips return after Tommy John surgery is sooner than Dodgers fans expected

Phillips only pitched 5⅔ innings last season between multiple stints on the IL and eventually Tommy John. He was mostly healthy the year prior, but the 3.62 ERA he posted in 54⅔ innings was his highest as a Dodger.

The Dodgers clearly still believe the version of Phillips they uncovered in 2022 and 2023 — first as a setup man and then LA's de facto closer — is still in there somewhere.

LA's bullpen hasn't exactly been unshakeable as of late but, unlike last year, it's not the team's clear-cut weakest link. That doesn't mean fans should expect Phillips to have to fight for a roster spot when he's ready to be reactivated. But the Dodgers' decision might be a little tougher when the time comes.

Still, it was a pleasant surprise to see Phillips back sooner than anyone thought. Fans still remember the peak of his career fondly, and maybe this is the year he returns to form.

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