Coming Home: The Braves Lure Evan Phillips Away From the Dodgers With a Three-Year, $35 Million Deal

Eight years after the Atlanta Braves traded him away, Evan Phillips is coming home.

The Braves announced Thursday that they have signed the right-hander to a three-year, $35 million contract, prying one of baseball's most dependable late-inning arms away from the Los Angeles Dodgers ^[1][3]. USA Today's Bob Nightengale was first to report the agreement, according to ClutchPoints ^[4]. The deal pays Phillips $11 million in each of 2027 and 2028 and $13 million in 2029, and he has agreed to donate 1 percent of his salary to the Atlanta Braves Foundation, Dodger Blue reported ^[2][3].

It is the first notable reliever deal of the winter, and Newsweek wrote that it sets the market for free-agent relief pitchers ^[5].

From 17th-Round Pick to October Fireman

Phillips, a 32-year-old from Clayton, N.C., was a 17th-round pick by the Braves in 2015 and pitched in four games for Atlanta in 2018 before he was sent to Baltimore in a six-player trade ^[2]. His early career was a grind. He moved from the Orioles to the Tampa Bay Rays and carried a 7.26 career ERA before the Dodgers picked him up midway through the 2021 season ^[2][3].

In Los Angeles he became a different pitcher. Over 232 regular-season appearances with the Dodgers he posted a 2.36 ERA ^[3]. From 2022 through 2024 he logged a 2.21 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP with 44 saves and 206 strikeouts in 179 innings, ESPN reported ^[1]. His 2022 season was one of the best by any reliever in the game: 64 appearances, a 1.14 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 63 innings ^[3]. Since 2022, Dodger Blue noted, his 2.31 ERA is the lowest in the National League among pitchers with at least 200 appearances ^[2].

Across nine big-league seasons he is 19-14 with 47 saves and a 3.37 ERA in 281 games ^[1][2]. He has been nearly untouchable in October, too: 17 career postseason appearances covering 18 1/3 innings without allowing a run ^[2][3].

Back From Surgery

The last two years tested him. Phillips hurt his rotator cuff in March 2025 and went on to have Tommy John surgery later that year ^[1][3]. The Dodgers non-tendered him last offseason, then brought him back on a one-year, $6.5 million deal ^[1][3]. He made his season debut on July 7 ^[2].

The comeback started slowly, with a 5.27 ERA over his first 17 appearances, but he closed with a 1.46 ERA and 19 strikeouts over his final 14 outings beginning Aug. 21, then made five scoreless postseason appearances ^[1][2]. He finished the regular season 3-2 with a 3.46 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 26 innings ^[1][2][3]. Phillips was on the roster for the Dodgers' 2024 and 2025 World Series champions, though injuries kept him from pitching in either Fall Classic, Dodger Blue noted ^[2].

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What It Means for Both Clubs

ESPN called the signing a boost to what already was one of the best bullpens in baseball ^[1]. Dodger Blue pointed out that Braves relievers Robert Suarez (2.66) and Dylan Lee (2.84) rank fourth and seventh in the NL in ERA over the same span, which puts three of the league's steadiest relievers in one bullpen ^[2]. ClutchPoints noted that Atlanta still has needs, including another starter after a run of rotation injuries and a lineup that went cold against the Dodgers in the NL Division Series, and that the Braves have plenty of time to address them ^[4].

For the Dodgers, Phillips is the first of nine free agents to leave ^[3]. Left-hander Alex Vesia and right-hander Blake Treinen are also on the market, and more than 15 teams have checked in on Vesia ^[2][3]. General manager Brandon Gomes hinted at this week's GM meetings that Los Angeles could add a reliever. "Bullpen is probably an opportunistic thing, and looking at who fits within our group," he said ^[3]. Sports Illustrated pointed to Will Klein and Brock Stewart as the likeliest in-house options to take over Phillips' role ^[3].

The Take

Thirty-five million dollars is a lot of money for a reliever who is a year and a half removed from elbow surgery. But the Braves are betting on more than an arm. They are betting on a pitcher who rebuilt his career from a 7.26 ERA into one of the most reliable late-inning weapons in the sport, who fought his way back from surgery to pitch his best when it mattered, and who is giving part of his paycheck back to the community before he throws a single pitch in Atlanta. That is the kind of man a contender wants in the eighth inning, and the kind of homecoming baseball fans in Georgia can root for.