Dodgers re-sign injured former top prospect after unceremonious non-tender

The Dodgers non-tendered pitchers Nick Frasso and Evan Phillips at the Nov. 21 deadline, letting go of a former top prospect and a prized LA reclamation project.

Frasso has been frequently injured throughout his young career. He underwent a labrum surgery and a procedure on his right hip in 2023 and 2024, which kept him sidelined for all of 2024. He returned to the Triple-A mound in 2025 but struggled over 77 innings (5.49 ERA) before closing out the season on the 60-day IL again, this time with an undisclosed injury.

The Dodgers have kept the door open to re-signing Phillips, who underwent Tommy John this year. He's reportedly garnered some interest from other clubs, but it feels almost inevitable that they re-sign him and Kiké Hernández when the 60-day IL reopens.

Frasso peaked at No. 2 in the Dodgers' pipeline in 2024, which could've made him an attractive minor league signing for another team, but the Dodgers decided they didn't want to let him get away. Per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, they re-signed him to a minor league deal on Dec. 13.

Dodgers re-sign non-tendered former top prospect Nick Frasso to a minor league deal

Frasso was part of a massive wave of injuries for young Dodgers arms, which also eventually took down River Ryan, Gavin Stone, and Kyle Hurt. Ryan and Stone should be available by spring training and may be competing for bullpen spots, and Hurt returned to Triple-A for a rehab assignment in late 2025.

Frasso had been a starter throughout his minor league career, but he was moved to Oklahoma City's bullpen in late May, after just seven starts. The transition appeared smooth at first — he posted a 1.38 ERA in June — but his July and August were catastrophic (12.91 and 6.39 ERA, respectively, in 20 2/3 innings). He finally leveled out again in September, pitching seven scoreless innings, which probably salvaged his future with the Dodgers.

With the Dodgers' pitching staff as crowded as it is, they can take their time rehabilitating Frasso, even if it's just to try to turn him into a viable trade chip eventually. He probably won't factor into their 2026 plans unless it's quite late in the season and the Dodgers are out of other options (which certainly could happen, if their injury track record is any indication), but it was probably wise LA gave itself another option to potentially turn to later down the road.