The Dodgers non-tendered Evan Phillips, but could re-sign the reliever

Ahead of his final season under club control, and with his 2026 salary expected to exceed $6 million through arbitration, reliever Evan Phillips was not offered a contract by the Dodgers for next year on Friday, but director of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team is still interested in re-signing him as he recovers from a Tommy John injury.

“We’ve had a number of back-and-forth conversations with Evan and his agent,” Friedman said via text. “It’s a challenge to get him out of surgery, so he’s going to take some time and sign off on his rehab after the stone is removed. Evan has been a big part of our past successes and we’ll continue to talk about bringing him back. We respect that he’s taking this time to decide what’s best for him and his family.”

Friday’s decision — which will make Phillips a free agent — reflects the uncertainty surrounding the pitcher’s status for next season, following a Tommy John procedure he had last June.

Phillips’ recovery process is expected to extend at least into early next year. How long will he be able to stay clear in 2026?

Because of that, the Dodgers faced a decision ahead of MLB’s non-tender deadline on Friday: keep Phillips on the roster and pay him the $6.1 million or what MLB trade rumors estimated he would get through the arbitration process. Or cut him loose and try to re-sign him (possibly for less) this season.

The club chose the latter. Now, only time will tell if Phillips’ productive run in Los Angeles will continue.

Phillips, 31, has been a key part of the Dodgers’ bullpen since the team claimed him off waivers near the end of the 2021 season.

In 2022, he was one of the best relievers in baseball, posting a 1.14 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 63 innings. He had a 2.05 ERA and 24 saves the following season, before going up to a 3.62 mark in 2024.

Despite this decline, the right-hander still played a key role in the club’s 2024 World Series run, pitching 6⅔ scoreless innings in the postseason before missing the World Series with a shoulder injury.

The injury, which Phillips later said involved a tear behind his rotator cuff, caused him to miss the first week of this past season.

Phillips finally made his 2025 season debut on April 19, but logged just seven appearances (all scoreless) with hand discomfort before going on the injured list in early May. At the time, Phillips’ hope was that the IL stint was just a “precautionary” measure and that he would be able to return later in the season.

Instead, his neck pain continued. And by the end of May, the full extent of his injury became frustratingly clear.

Phillips underwent his Tommy John procedure, which usually comes with a 12-18 month recovery schedule, on June 3.

“[His arm] “We’re not really responding,” general manager Brandon Gomez said at the time. “We felt like it was a possibility. So as he got deeper into the process and it didn’t really go well, the decision to do it was pretty obvious with our data.

Phillips started throwing again on November 5, he announced on Instagram. The Dodgers will still want him to be part of the mix in their bid for a World Series triple in 2026.

However, it will now take a new contract to do so.

In addition to Phillips, the Dodgers also decided not to tender a contract to 27-year-old pitcher Nick Frasso on Friday. Fraso, a former top prospect who struggled at Triple-A last season in his comeback from shoulder surgery, has yet to make an MLB start.