The Dodgers put right-hander Evan Phillips on the 15-day injured list last week due to forearm discomfort. Manager Dave Roberts initially downplayed the issue but the prognosis changed in the following days, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.
“Our expectation is on that 16th day, he’ll be back active,” Roberts previously said. Phillips himself also relayed his belief that he would be back after a minimum absence but that will not be the case. An MRI discovered inflammation in his elbow and he’s going to be shut down from throwing for “a couple weeks,” in Roberts’ words. Even if everything goes smoothly and he feels better after that shutdown, he will then have to ramp back up again.
It’s been a challenging on-and-off period for Phillips going back to last year. Late in 2024, he was dealing with irritation in his shoulder and arm fatigue, as well as tightness in his lat, triceps and biceps. He was left off the club’s World Series roster. He was diagnosed with a small tear of a tendon in his rotator cuff during the playoffs, though that information didn’t come out until early in 2025. He started the current season on the IL due to that strain and was eventually reinstated but only pitched 5 2/3 innings for the Dodgers before this latest issue put him back on the shelf.
Phillips is one of 13 pitchers on the Dodgers’ IL at the moment. That’s not entirely unexpected as several of them underwent major surgeries last year and the team has a broad willingness to bet on talented but injury-prone pitchers. The team is doing fine in spite of that, as their 27-14 record is the best in the majors. Perhaps that allows them to be cautious with Phillips, as opposed to pushing him through an injury before he’s ready.
Whenever he’s healthy again, he will add another weapon to the pitching staff. Dating back to the start of the 2022 season, he has thrown 184 2/3 innings for the Dodgers with a 2.14 earned run average, 29.6% strikeout rate and 6.6% walk rate.
Plunkett also relays updates on infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman and outfielder Teoscar Hernández, who are both on the 10-day IL. Edman landed there a couple of weeks ago due to ankle inflammation while Hernández suffered an adductor strain last week. The Dodgers are bringing minor league pitchers to the park for some live batting practice this week, with both Edman and Hernández set to take part.
Somewhat similar to the Phillips situation, Edman’s injury was initially framed as very mild but has lingered longer than expected. Even though he’s going to take some swings, he is still having trouble running and Roberts estimates that Edman is only about 80% recovered.
With those two out, more playing time has gone to guys like Hyeseong Kim and James Outman. Kim has no walks and no extra-base hits, leading to a flat line of .318/.318/.318 so far, while Outman has a dreadful .067/.176/.267 slash. That latter line is in just 17 plate appearances but Outman struggled last year as well, hitting .147/.256/.265. Before their IL placements, Edman was hitting .252/.295/.523 while Hernández was at .315/.333/.600, so getting them back on the roster would give a boost to an already-strong Dodger team.
Image courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images