Dodgers' Top Reliever Demoted From High-Leverage Spots Amid Struggles

He went from the penthouse to the outhouse.

Oct 11, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (30) relieves pitcher Evan Phillips (59) in the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres during game five of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Of the eight relief pitchers currently in the Los Angeles Dodgers' bullpen, only one has been on the team's major league roster longer than Evan Phillips.

Alex Vesia arrived a little more than three months earlier than Phillips, in May 2021, and even he took a detour to Triple-A in 2023 when he was struggling in the first year of MLB's pitch clock rules.

Phillips' recent struggles aren't pushing him to the minors. But manager Dave Roberts acknowledged the right-hander will see a diminished role until he gets back on track.

"“Evan, I think I’ve got to give him some different situations," Roberts told reporters in New York after the Dodgers lost to the Mets on Sunday. "So I think that’s where it’s at.”

Phillips allowed a three-run home run to veteran outfielder Tyrone Taylor in the Dodgers' 8-3 defeat. The home run turned a lead into a deficit, and made Phillips the losing pitcher for the second time in seven games since he was activated from the injured list on July 6.

It was the third time Roberts used Phillips in a game the Dodgers led by one or two runs, or a tie game. The first time, he allowed a home run to New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the eighth inning of a 1-1 game on July 19 in New York.

“I think some of it was probably just me really trusting him,” Roberts said Sunday. “And I really do trust him. But there’s some work, some rust that needs to be kind of dusted off. So I think right now I’m going to kind of give him different looks and get his feet kind of under him and get some traction.”

If Phillips is rusty, it isn't in any physical sense. He missed the first three months of the season with discomfort in his right forearm — a worrisome injury for a pitcher who finished last season on the IL with the same issue.

“Physically I feel great," Phillips said. "If anything, it’s just trying to stay on top of the scouting and matchup side of things and understand what I’m trying to do in certain spots. But I feel really, really close to being pretty dang good.”

Phillips has a 6.75 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 6.2 innings this season.

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