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Evan Phillips acknowledged he’s mostly struggled since returning to the Dodgers bullpen in early July but told reporters he feels “really, really close” to getting back to where he was before Tommy John surgery, per DodgerBlue.com. Phillips underwent the procedure in June 2025 and has been working his way back over the past year-plus. The results so far haven’t been what he — or any of us — would want, but his confidence appears genuine.

Phillips was one of the best relievers in baseball before the injury. In 2023, he served as the Dodgers’ closer and was flat-out dominant, posting a 1.97 ERA across 59 appearances with elite swing-and-miss stuff. His slider was virtually unhittable for stretches, and he became the kind of late-inning arm you could trust with any lead. The 2024 season was more of a mixed bag — he dealt with some inconsistency and eventually the elbow issues that led to surgery — but at his peak, Phillips was a top-tier weapon out of the pen. Tommy John recovery for relievers is a tricky road. The velocity can come back before the command and feel do, and that seems to be roughly where Phillips is right now. He’s getting back on the mound and competing, but the fine-tuning isn’t quite there yet.

The timing matters here because our bullpen situation is in flux. We just saw Alex Scott moving out of the closer role with the return of Brusdar Graterol (assuming that’s the Díaz reference from recent coverage — correction: Yency Díaz), and the pen melted down in that series finale against the Mets. Getting a healthy, sharp Phillips back would be a significant addition — essentially like making an in-house deadline acquisition without giving up any prospects. But he’s not there yet, and we shouldn’t pretend otherwise.

I do think the “really, really close” framing is encouraging rather than concerning. Phillips isn’t saying he’s all the way back — he’s being honest about the gap between where he is and where he needs to be. That kind of self-awareness usually means a pitcher is locked in on the process and not just throwing and hoping. The stuff is clearly still in there; it’s about sequencing, locating, and trusting what he has in high-leverage spots. That trust gets rebuilt one outing at a time.

For the Dodgers, the best-case scenario is Phillips rounding into form over the next few weeks and giving them another reliable arm for the stretch run. We’re approaching the trade deadline, and every bullpen arm that can be fixed internally is one fewer move Andrew Friedman has to make on the open market. Phillips doesn’t need to be the 2023 version of himself right away — even a league-average reliever who can handle the seventh inning would help stabilize things. But if he gets back to anything close to his best? That changes the entire complexion of our late-game pitching. We’re watching this one closely.

Source(s): Staff (DodgerBlue.com) | First reported: July 27, 2026 7:17 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers