Reports from last week indicated that Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips might begin the season on the 15-day injured list, as his offseason throwing work was delayed until January due to a small tear in the tendon of his right rotator cuff. Phillips confirmed his status to reporters (including the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett) on Friday, saying that “Opening Day is off the table,” even though he doesn’t expect to miss much time.
Some positive steps have already been taken in that direction, as Phillips said his shoulder has felt good during his ramp-up work in camp. This includes his first proper bullpen session of Spring Training, which took place yesterday. The Dodgers figure to take Phillips along pretty slowly in camp to make up for his lost prep time during the offseason, yet the early indications are promising.
Phillips emerged as the Dodgers’ closer in 2023 by converting 24 of 27 save chances and posting a 2.05 ERA over 61 1/3 innings. That ERA shot up to a 3.62 mark over 54 2/3 innings in 2024, due in large part to a more baseline amount of batted-ball luck — Phillips had a .219 BABIP in 2023, and a .298 BABIP last season. The right-hander’s SIERAs over both seasons were virtually identical (3.08 in 2023, 3.15 in 2024) and his walk rate increased from a very strong 5.6% to an only decent 7.5%. Most of Phillips’ struggles last year came in one brutal six-outing stretch in July that saw him tagged for a 19.64 ERA over just 3 2/3 innings of work, but he righted the ship over the last two months of the regular season.
The good form continued into October with 6 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball in the NLDS and NLCS, except Phillips’ shoulder injury then kept him off the World Series roster. Phillips said he received a PRP injection in his shoulder in November, though an MRI in December still showed “some damage,” hence the adjustments to his offseason throwing routine.
Phillips’ health status was undoubtedly a factor in the Dodgers’ decision to sign Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates this offseason, fortifying the end-game innings just in case Phillips does have to miss any time. Michael Kopech’s status is also a question mark, though Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) that Kopech is set to “touch the mound” for a brief throwing session tomorrow. Reports last month indicated that Kopech is dealing with some forearm inflammation, and while the Dodgers didn’t think the situation was too serious, Kopech has indeed been limited in his throwing during Spring Training.
In other Dodgers pitching news, Bobby Miller updated the media on his condition after the right-hander was struck in the head by a Michael Busch line drive on Thursday. Miller told Ardaya that he is dealing with some headaches and drowsiness, and Roberts said yesterday that the team would continue to monitor Miller through concussion protocol. All in all, it seems as though Miller has thankfully emerged relatively unscathed from the scary incident.