Right-handed reliever Evan Phillips, who is coming off Tommy John surgery, agreed to a one-year, $6.5 million contract Wednesday to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Phillips, 31, is expected to return around July.
The late-inning reliever appeared in just seven games at the start of the 2025 season, throwing just 5 2/3 innings while earning a save. He went on the injured list because of a rotator cuff strain in the middle of March, returned a month later and notched seven scoreless appearances, then went back on the IL on May 7 because of what the team called forearm discomfort.
Phillips was released by the Baltimore Orioles in August 2021 and designated for assignment by the Tampa Bay Rays less than two weeks later. The Dodgers picked him up and turned him into a valuable late-game option. From 2022 to 2024, Phillips posted a 2.21 ERA and 0.92 WHIP, saved 44 games and struck out 206 batters in 179 regular-season innings.
He dealt with arm issues during the 2024 postseason run and was left off the team’s World Series roster.
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez contributed to this report.