The Los Angeles Dodgers (20-11) are having a solid campaign thus far, but they now have to deal with a new bullpen injury. Right-handed pitcher Evan Phillips, who sports an 0.66 ERA for the Dodgers this year, will miss time.
Los Angeles placed Phillips on the 15-Day IL Sunday with a right hamstring strain, via The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya. As a result, they activated fellow right-hander Blake Treinen from the IL.
The Phillips move was retroactive to Saturday, per ESPN. The 29-year-old has been clinical this season, as he's 8-for-8 in save opportunities with 17 strikeouts and four walks over 13 2/3 innings.
Treinen now gets his first opportunity of the year to pitch in the big leagues. The 35-year-old has only thrown five innings in the MLB since 2022.
How will Los Angeles' bullpen fare in Phillips' absence?
Losing Evan Phillips is a setback, but the Dodgers have plenty of other options
Phillips is a solid and reliable bullpen arm, but this short-term injury shouldn't move the needle much.
“For his career, Phillips is 11-11 with 35 saves, a 3.20 ERA, 239 strikeouts and 77 walks in 205⅓ innings over 196 games (one start),” wrote ESPN. “A 17th-round selection by Atlanta in the 2015 MLB draft, Phillips has played for the Braves (2018), Baltimore Orioles (2018-2020), Tampa Bay Rays (2021) and Dodgers (2021-present).”
While the Salisbury, Maryland native has been a good closer both this year and throughout his career, Los Angeles has other relievers to temporarily turn to in that spot.
Southpaw Alex Vesia is a good example. The 28-year-old has 19 strikeouts and a 1.65 ERA across 16.1 innings pitched this year. Another one is right-hander Daniel Hudson, who sports a 0.93 WHIP and one save across 15 innings.
Treinen on the other hand, could strengthen the bullpen even further if he gets back to his pre-injury form.
“He is 36-31 with a 2.86 ERA, 504 strikeouts and 193 walks in 503 innings over 449 career games (seven starts) with the Washington Nationals (2014-2017), Oakland Athletics (2017-2019) and Dodgers (2020-2022),” said ESPN. “He was selected to the American League All-Star team while with Oakland in 2018.”
Additionally, Treinen was 6-5 with a 1.99 ERA and seven saves in 2021, his last full season. With such a long track record, the veteran hurler has a strong foundation of experience to fall back on as he works back to full health.
Luckily, though, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts doesn't think Phillips' injury is anything serious, via Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
“It was just a freak and random [injury], sort of like how Brasier was running sprints and blew out his calf — a little bit of bad luck,” Roberts said. “It’s very benign, and the hope is that once his [IL] stint is up, he’ll be back and ready to go.”
Roberts also weighed in on who could replace Phillips in the meantime.
“We’ll see. I think it will be more of just managing the game and figuring out the leverage of the game and however the ninth inning falls out,” Roberts continued. “We’ll just sort of try to win every inning and just manage the leverage.”
Expect the Dodgers to mix and match at the closer spot over the next couple of weeks.
Follow Us
Subscribe