Los Angeles Dodgers right-handed pitcher Evan Phillips is set to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery, manager Dave Roberts told reporters Friday.
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Phillips will have the surgery on June 4, ending his season and likely most, if not all of next season.
Phillips began the year on the injured list after suffering a rotator cuff injury during last year’s postseason that kept him off the World Series roster.
He wasn’t activated until the middle of April, and made just seven appearances this season, not allowing a run in 5.2 innings of work.
However, Phillips was placed back on the IL on May 7 with right forearm discomfort. At the time, Roberts didn’t appear to be too concerned with the injury.
“Could he have pitched today? Absolutely,” Roberts said the day Phillips went on the IL. “I just don’t know — no one knows how he would respond going forward, so for us, it just made the most sense to IL him. Our expectation is on that 16th day, he’ll be back out there.”
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This week, Roberts admitted that Phillips’ injury was getting “concerning.” The Dodgers transferred him to the 60-day IL on Thursday after trading for Cincinnati Reds reliever Alexis Diaz.
“It’s starting to get a little concerning,” Roberts said. “I don’t know how long we can give it until he can attempt to start playing catch again. I’m getting a little kind of concerned, but hoping for the best.”
Now on Friday, Roberts said Phillips tried to play catch a couple of days ago but continued to feel pain. Roberts said the catch “didn’t go well.” Now, Phillips will be sidelined for at least the next year.
Phillips has developed into one of the Dodgers’ highest-leverage relievers since joining the team midway through the 2021 season.
Across parts of five seasons with Los Angeles, Phillips has made 201 regular season appearances, sporting a 2.22 ERA with 45 saves and 221 strikeouts over 195 innings of work. In the postseason, he’s been even better, allowing zero earned runs over 12 appearances and 15.1 innings pitched.
Before joining the Dodgers, across parts of four seasons with the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays, Phillips had a career ERA of 7.26 over 49 appearances.
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