Dodgers’ Dave Roberts Isn’t Sure Who Will Close Games With Evan Phillips On IL
The good news for the Los Angeles Dodgers is that they activated reliever Blake Treinen on Sunday morning. The bad news is they also placed closer Evan Phillips on the injured list with a right hamstring strain.
Manager Dave Roberts addressed Phillips’ injury and who would close games in his absence before Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Braves.
“I honestly don’t even know. We’ll see,” Roberts told reporters including Mike DiGiovanna from the Los Angeles Times. “I think it’s more of just managing the game and however the ninth inning falls out. We’ll just sort of try to win every inning and manage the leverage.”
The Dodgers will likely use Joe Kelly, Daniel Hudson, Alex Vesia, and Blake Treinen in late-game situations. It will all depend on who is rested and has the best matchup.
Phillips has landed on the 15-day IL after converting all eight of his save opportunities and had a 0.66 ERA in his first 14 games. It’s his first trip to the IL in his three seasons with the Dodgers.
“It was just a freak and random [injury], sort of like how Brasier was running sprints and blew out his calf–a little bit of bad luck,” Roberts said. “It’s very benign, and the hope is that once his [IL] stint is up, he’ll be back and ready to go.”
The addition of Treinen should help ease the pain of losing Phillips but the 35-year-old hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2022. He missed most of the past two seasons because of shoulder injuries and suffered broken ribs and bruised lung when a line drive hit him in an early March exhibition game.
Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
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