Evan Phillips Could Still Return for Dodgers in World Series

“Evan came out of the game Sunday and just wasn’t rebounding the way that he was hoping. He had tightened up some after that inning and said, hey, I can go back out,” Friedman said. “Doc and Mark Prior in that moment said this doesn’t make sense right now.

“Each day has gotten better, but not to the point where — first and foremost, we’re not going to put him in harm’s way, and where there’s an ambiguity around it, it’s not clear. And the way the Major League Baseball injury rule is written, we wouldn’t be able to replace him in that it was something that was preexisting.

“So just balancing and weighing all of that, this is the decision we came to.”

If another reliever were to get injured, the Dodgers could bring Phillips back as an injury replacement. Had the Dodgers initially placed Phillips on the roster, the team wouldn’t have been able to replace the right-hander if he was unable to pitch.

However, Friedman said the team isn’t going to shut him down from pitching in the off chance he makes a return in the World Series.

“He’s not going to be shut down,” Friedman said. “Again, we didn’t have the clarity we needed, so we’ll continue to use these days to assess day by day by day, making sure that we’re doing the smart thing by him, by us each day. And what that means tomorrow, it’s hard to say. But, no, it’s not shut down.”

For now, Phillips will continue to throw in the hopes that he will be available later on in the series. The loss of Phillips is yet another blow to the Dodgers pitching staff.

Injuries have been somewhat normal throughout the 2024 season, but the Dodgers have persevered. The team will look to continue to do so for the final four wins to a ring.

Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports