The first Dodgers free agent is off the board, as reliever Evan Phillips signed a new contract with the Atlanta Braves for three years and $35 million.
Phillips, per the Braves, will make $11 million in each of 2027 and 2028, and $13 million in 2029.
The 32-year-old right-hander had a 3.46 ERA and 4.37 xERA in 31 games for the Dodgers this season after coming back from Tommy John surgery in June 2025, with 33 strikeouts against only three unintentional walks in 26 innings. His 31.1-percent strikeout rate
was his best since 2022.
Phillips made $6.5 million last year for the Dodgers, his sixth season with Los Angeles.
A waiver claim by the Dodgers from the Tampa Bay Rays in August 2021, Phillips quickly became a high-leverage reliever in Los Angeles. He posted a 2.36 ERA and 3.03 xERA in 232 games for the Dodgers with 46 saves, with 254 strikeouts (a 29.2-percent strikeout rate) and 50 unintentional walks in 221 innings.
Phillips pitched in five different postseasons for the Dodgers, totaling 17 games, and did not allow a run in his 18 1/3 innings, with 24 strikeouts and eight unintentional walks, and recorded his first postseason save during the 2026 National League Division Series against the Braves.
After returning from the injured list in July, the Dodgers were cautious with Phillips’ usage, limiting his back-to-back outings. But he started to feel like his old self about a month back into the groove.
“I appreciate what they’ve done, trying to build me up, plus also protect me, plus giving me advantageous lanes while also challenging me,” Phillips told True Blue LA in September. “It’s been great so far, and I definitely feel like I’m coming closer and closer to that best version of myself that I have been and continue to strive to be.”
