Dodgers Cut Ties With Top Reliever After 2.22 ERA in 5 Seasons

The Los Angeles Dodgers used the non-tender deadline to make two quietly significant bullpen decisions, declining to tender 2026 contracts to right-handers Evan Phillips and Nick Frasso. 

Both pitchers immediately became free agents. 

For Phillips, it is a harsh turn after he evolved from waiver claim to one of the best relievers in baseball, posting a 2.22 ERA with 45 saves over 201 appearances in five seasons with the Dodgers.

Dodgers move on from injured closer Evan Phillips

Phillips’ 2025 campaign never really got started. A rotator cuff issue kept him out of the 2024 World Series and delayed his 2025 debut, and after just seven scoreless outings he suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament that required Tommy John surgery in June. 

With MLB Trade Rumors projecting a roughly $6.1 million arbitration salary for 2026 and the realistic timeline pushing his return into the second half of next season, the Dodgers chose not to carry that figure on their books while he rehabs. 

Andrew Friedman says the Dodgers are still interested in re-signing Evan Phillips

He was due to make more than $6 million thru arbitration for next season, but is still recovering from a Tommy John surgery he had last June

Friedman's full statement: https://t.co/qGlnI3t6Sv pic.twitter.com/U5DMIYguf3

— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) November 21, 2025

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has already indicated the club remains interested in bringing him back on a new deal once he is further along in his recovery, so this feels more like a financial reset than a clean break. 

Frasso’s upside loses out to health and roster math

Frasso’s non-tender is a different type of gamble. Once a top-100 prospect and a key piece in the 2022 trade that sent Mitch White to Toronto, the 25-year-old has yet to throw a pitch in the majors and has been derailed by shoulder and hip surgeries. 

He missed all of 2024 while rehabbing, then returned in 2025 to post a 5.49 ERA with a 1.59 WHIP in 43 games (seven starts) for Triple-A Oklahoma City, striking out 68 but walking 42 in 77 innings before another late-season injury. 

Idk if it’s cuz they didn’t win some of these years but we don’t talk enough about postseason Evan Phillips in this dodgers run. Dude was absolute clutch and money. pic.twitter.com/4bWPDiMP7X

— eddie (@joker37190) November 21, 2025

By non-tendering Frasso despite his remaining club control and one option year, the Dodgers effectively decided that his health questions and uneven performance outweighed the value of keeping him on a crowded 40-man roster. 

Photo Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images