The Los Angeles Dodgers have officially lost their first free agent of the MLB offseason, and it’s a big blow to the team’s bullpen.
On Thursday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that reliever Evan Phillips had agreed to a 3-year, $35 million deal with the Atlanta Braves.
Phillips, 32, departs Los Angeles after six seasons and two World Series victories.
He joined the Dodgers in 2021 after bouncing around the league with little success, initially with the Braves organization, before playing three seasons for the Baltimore Orioles and making a single appearance for the Tampa Bay Rays.
But it was the Dodgers pitching staff and Mark Pryor who were able to unlock Phillips’ potential, transforming him from an unheralded journeyman into one of the game’s top relievers.
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In 2023, Phillips received heavy praise from manager Dave Roberts, who described him as “always the best option.”
“He commands a strike zone, he has different weapons to get guys out, and he is completely neutral [against left- or right-handed hitters,” Roberts told the New York Times. “I don’t need information to know that he’s always the best option. And so now with that, it’s: When do you deploy that silver bullet that you have?”
Evan Phillips’ Dodgers legacy
Across his six seasons in L.A., Phillips appeared in 232 regular season games with a 2.36 ERA in the regular season and a 2.90 FIP. In 17 postseason appearances, he struck out 24, gave up only 9 hits, and never yielded a run.
He led the team in saves in 2023 and 2024, and was a critical part of the “Bullpen Dawgs” that carried the Dodgers to a World Series victory in 2024.
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He missed the entire 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and returned midway through 2026 and resumed his role as Roberts’ most trusted high-leverage right-handed reliever. He was a member of the 2026 postseason roster and appeared in five games.
- He even got his own bobblehead in 2024, a somewhat rarity for bullpen arms
Phillips’ departure is slightly unexpected, but not a shocker. He made $6.5 million with the Dodgers in 2026 after agreeing to a third-straight one-year deal to avoid arbitration. The elbow surgery in 2025 robbed him of what was shaping up to be a massive payday, but resulted in another one-year prove-it deal with L.A.
He now heads to Atlanta with a 70% pay increase and three years of long-term stability that will carry him into his mid-30s, with a chance to likely cash in one final time in the twilight of his career.
The loss of one of Roberts’ go-to righty relievers might accelerate the team’s efforts to reinforce its bullpen via free agency, and re-sign Roberts’ lefty high-leverage guy, Alex Vesia.
Vesia, 30, is currently a free agent after recording a 2.64 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 72 appearances last season. A fellow bullpen mainstay since 2021, he made only $3.65 million last season and is due for a big payday.
MLB Trade Rumors ranked Vesia as the No. 27 free agent available; Phillips was close behind at No. 29.
The Dodgers have also been linked to the top free agent reliever in free agency, San Diego Padres lefty Adrian Morejon, but the team suddenly is in need of a reliable right-handed reliever.
That could potentially be good news for current free agents Brusdar Graterol and Blake Treinen.
Graterol hasn’t pitched since the 2024 World Series due to shoulder and back injuries, but is only 28 years old. Treinen was at one point a Roberts’ favorite and a key cog in the 2024 World Series-winning bullpen, but he’s 38 years old and was shut down near the end of the regular season with a shoulder injury after back-to-back seasons of poor play.
The Atlanta Braves, meanwhile, welcome Phillips with an obvious role in last season’s 6th-ranked pen. Closer Raisel Iglesias is currently a free agent, and either Phillips or two-time All Star Robert Suarez could assume that role.
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