Dodgers non-tender forgotten top prospect, injured relief star as deadline looms

The Dodgers' roster was at 39 players ahead of Friday's non-tender deadline after the subtractions of former All-Star Tony Gonsolin, World Series hero Justin Dean, and former top prospect Michael Grove, as well as the additions of minor leaguers Ryan Ward and Ronan Kopp.

It left the Dodgers with just five arbitration-eligible players — Brusdar Graterol, Evan Phillips, Anthony Banda, Brock Stewart, and Alex Call.

All of the pitchers made some amount of sense as non-tender candidates. Graterol barely pitched in 2024 and didn't pitch at all in 2025, Banda was terrible in the postseason and could've been cleared to make room for an upgrade. Stewart's shoulder surgery kept him out of the postseason and will delay him in 2026.

However, Phillips was the most likely candidate to leave after he only managed to pitch 5 2/3 innings in 2025 and underwent Tommy John, which rules him out for 2026.

On Friday, the Dodgers did indeed non-tender Phillips as expected, but they also let go of former No. 2 prospect Nick Frasso, who didn't pitch in 2024 after a shoulder surgery and posted a 5.49 ERA in Triple-A this season. The Dodgers' 40-man roster is down to 37.

Dodgers non-tender reclamation project Evan Phillips, former top prospect Nick Frasso

Frasso has been on the 40-man roster for some time, but never got a major league debut with the Dodgers. He was cruising through the minor leagues in 2022 and 2023 and could've been a consideration for the 2024 roster if not for a labrum surgery, which was announced at the very beginning of spring training that year.

He made his return to the mound this season in Triple-A, but just wasn't the same pitcher. He was eventually moved out of a starter role but still struggled in relief.

Phillips, once the Dodgers' de facto closer, was supplanted this season by Tanner Scott — and then he underwent Tommy John. With the Dodgers aggressive on the relief market (they already made a play for Raisel Iglesias before he re-signed with the Braves), Phillips' roster spot would've been wasted in 2026 with little hope for a return next season. However, Andrew Friedman left a door to re-signing Phillips open, which they could easily do after the 60-day IL reopens.

Frasso might still have some of that top prospect sheen on him, which could fuel interest in a minor-league contract with another team, but it's certainly a shame that a player who was once such a highly touted prospect just wasn't able to bounce back after a major surgery.