The Braves made a splash in the free agent market on November 12. Evan Phillips, who’s been a key part of the Dodgers’ bullpen for most of the past five seasons, is headed east to join Atlanta.
A Look at Phillips
Evan Phillips got his career back on track in Los Angeles, where he was one of baseball’s best relievers over the last five years.
Phillips emerged as a frontline reliever in 2022, a year in which he posted a stellar 1.14 ERA, as well as 77 strikeouts over 63 innings. The right-hander took over closing duties in 2023 after Craig Kimbrel left, notching 42 saves between the ’23 and ’24 campaigns. He also threw shutout ball in the 2024 MLB Postseason, as he tossed 6.2 scoreless innings during the club’s title run that fall.
Things turned, though, in 2025. He missed most of 2025 due to injury, was predictably non-tendered, and then re-signed with the Dodgers in February of this year. Phillips made 31 appearances for the Dodgers in 2026, striking out 33 over 26 innings and posting a 3.46 ERA. He allowed five home runs.
A lot of the advanced metrics shine a positive light on Phillips’ campaign. For one, Phillips induced a lot of chase, well above the league median and one of the top rates among Dodgers’ relievers and pitchers, in general.
He’s a four-pitch pitcher. However, Phillips worked mostly off the fastball and sweeper. That combination is an impressive one when it comes to dealing with right-handed hitters. And especially when expanding out of the zone. Opposing right-handed hitters batted 1-for-22 off Phillips on pitches out of the strike zone.
Phillips ramped up the usage of his fastball, which ran as high as 100 MPH and regularly jumped into the upper-90s.
There was also a good amount of unpredictability with that sweeper. A plurality of whiffs induced off that sweeper were directly preceded by a sweeper, showing just how much both he and his catcher were willing to work that pitch and ween hitters off the fastball when need be.
Per the Braves’ official announcement, Evan Phillips signed with the team on a three-year deal worth $35MM. He will make $11MM in 2027 and 2028.
Analysis
Right on cue. We noted on November 12 that the Braves could use some additional bullpen help, particularly a right-handed reliever. That’s exactly what the Braves got with Phillips.
Phillips has an extensive track record of being a stingy pitcher, one who can get hitters to bite outside, and has the pitch arsenal to beat right-handed hitters. He is a nice juxtaposition to all the good left-handers in that Braves bullpen, one that will likely also include Robert Suarez as the new closer.
With Raisel Iglesias a free agent, Phillips becomes a younger replacement.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, lost a good reliever. However, the club does have a fair amount of right-handed reliever depth, especially with the emergence of Edgardo Henriquez.
What the Dodgers need is another left-hander, as Phillips’ former teammate Alex Vesia also went to market.
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