Evan Phillips, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ right-handed reliever, owns a 2.31 ERA across the last five seasons, the best mark in the National League among arms with at least 200 innings. Opposing hitters have never crossed the plate against him in 17 career playoff outings. Now 32, Phillips is taking that track record elsewhere—to a familiar place.
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The Atlanta Braves made it official Thursday with a three-year, $35 million deal that pays Phillips $11 million in each of 2027 and 2028, then $13 million in 2029. He also agreed to donate 1% of his salary to the team’s charitable foundation. Phillips was originally drafted by the Braves in 2015, the same team he helped knock out in the National League Division Series.
The contract ends a six-year Dodgers stint that began in August 2021, when Los Angeles claimed him off the waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays. Phillips debuted with the Braves in 2018 and threw only four games for Atlanta before they sent him to the Baltimore Orioles in the package that landed starter Kevin Gausman.
Between 2022 and 2024, Phillips posted a 2.21 ERA and 0.92 WHIP, converted 44 saves, and struck out 206 batters over 179 innings, making him the go-to arm for the toughest spots in the order. It also earned him a World Series ring in 2024, even though he suffered a rotator cuff (shoulder) injury during that year’s NLCS.
With relievers Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia, and Brusdar Graterol also headed to free agency, his exit leaves relievers Edwin Díaz and Tanner Scott carrying the late innings for the Dodgers in 2027.
The Braves and Dodgers have traded star power before, but the other way around. In March 2022, first baseman Freddie Freeman left the Braves for his hometown Los Angeles on a six-year, $162 million deal after talks stalled, and the Braves pivoted to first baseman Matt Olson on an eight-year extension. Freeman, a 2021 World Series champion with the Braves, homered in Game 3 of this October’s NLDS as the Dodgers took the series 3-1, despite dropping the regular-season matchup 5-1. Phillips now gives the Braves a Dodgers cornerstone of their own.
Freeman’s exit was about a bat, while this signing hinges on an arm that looks fully healed. Phillips had Tommy John surgery in May 2025, seven appearances into that season. He returned in July 2026, right before the All-Star break, and went on to post a 3.46 ERA with 33 strikeouts over 26 innings in 31 games.
Hitters still can’t catch up to him, as he punched out 31.1% of the batters he faced, just short of his 33% peak from 2022. The heater is back too, sitting at 96.9 mph on average, faster than the 96.0 he showed in 2022 and the 96.3 from 2023. He closed with a 1.46 ERA and 19 strikeouts across his final 14 outings, then added five scoreless playoff appearances.
Those results could reshape bullpens heading into 2027.
How both bullpens look heading into 2027
Atlanta’s late innings suddenly look crowded, and that is a good problem to have. Phillips struck out 31.1% of batters this season, near his career-best 33% from 2022, so the swing-and-miss stuff is intact.
Didier Fuentes was one of the game’s top relievers this past year, and the Braves are holding onto him in 2027. Phillips, with a 2.31 ERA over five years that leads the National League, replaces that impact and gives manager Walt Weiss an eighth- and ninth-inning anchor.
That pairs him with Robert Suarez (2.66 career ERA) and left-hander Dylan Lee (2.89 career ERA), and the three rank first, fourth, and seventh in the National League over five years. Suarez’s right elbow trouble this season makes that depth valuable.
Raisel Iglesias remains a free agent, so Phillips also insulates the back end if the closer walks. Whoever gets the ninth, Weiss has options, and Kerr’s postseason success adds another arm. That flexibility is what this contract really buys for Atlanta.
The Dodgers still hold a strong hand. Relievers Edwin Díaz and Tanner Scott are also under contract for 2027, backed by hard-throwing internal arms, even though relievers Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia, and Brusdar Graterol head to free agency.
That sets up a clear storyline for the winter. Phillips must turn his strong finish into a full 2027 season in Atlanta, while the Dodgers need to prove their internal arms can absorb the high-leverage outs he leaves behind.