ATLANTA -- Eight years later, Evan Phillips is returning to the Braves organization as a proven reliever.
Phillips and the Braves agreed to a three-year, $35 million contract on Thursday afternoon. The right-hander’s signing fills one of the multiple bullpen voids with yet another high-leverage option.
The Braves will pay Phillips $11 million both of the next two seasons and $13 million in 2029.
Didier Fuentes was one of the game’s top relievers this past year, but his role for 2027 will be determined after he is stretched out as a starter during Spring Training. Raisel Iglesias remains a free agent, but if he returns, the closer’s role could go to him or Robert Suarez, who returned during the regular season’s final week after missing three months with a right elbow ailment.
If Fuentes ends up in the rotation, Phillips could join Suarez, Dylan Lee and possibly Iglesias as high-leverage options in late innings. Ray Kerr’s postseason success also positions him to possibly be one of next season’s top bullpen arms.
Phillips posted a 3.46 ERA over 31 appearances (26 innings) for the Dodgers this season. He missed the regular season’s first half while recovering from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in May 2025.
Along with contributing promising results, Phillips showed he had made a strong recovery from surgery. His four-seamer averaged 96.9 mph, which was higher than the averages he produced in both 2022 (96 mph) and 2023 (96.3 mph). His 31.1% strikeout rate approached the career-best 33% mark he recorded in 2022.
When Phillips was sent to the Orioles as part of the 2018 Trade Deadline deal that brought Kevin Gausman to Atlanta, he was a rising prospect who had made four appearances for the Braves that season. He experienced uneven results with Baltimore the next couple seasons and then started to impress after the Dodgers claimed him off waivers from the Rays in August 2021.
Phillips posted a 1.14 ERA in 64 games (63 innings) for the Dodgers in 2022 and a 2.05 ERA over 62 games (61 1/3 innings) in 2023. He constructed a 3.62 ERA over 61 appearances (54 2/3 innings) for the Dodgers in 2024 before suffering a right elbow injury during the National League Championship Series. He made seven appearances in 2025 before undergoing Tommy John surgery.