Dodgers Re-Sign Evan Phillips, Designate Ben Rortvedt
BySteve Adams | at
The Dodgers announced Wednesday that they’ve re-signed relieverEvan Phillips to a one-year deal worth $6.5MM. CatcherBen Rortvedt was designated for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Phillips, a client of Apex Baseball, was non-tendered by the Dodgers in November after undergoing Tommy John surgery late last May but will return on a new one-year deal.
Phillips, 31, came to the Dodgers via a 2021 waiver claim out of the Rays organization. He pitched well enough down the stretch in ’21 to stick on the roster throughout that offseason, but Phillips didn’t immediately look like a waiver heist in the initial months following his claim.
That changed in 2022. A then-27-year-old Phillips erupted for 63 innings with a microscopic 1.14 ERA. He set down 33% of opponents on strikes and walked only 6.4% of the batters he faced, averaging better than 96 mph on his four-seamer and sinker alike. Phillips picked up 19 holds that year, but by 2023 he’d stepped into the closer’s role in L.A. — a job he handled with aplomb. Phillips turned in another dominant season, recording a 2.05 ERA with 24 saves, six holds, a 28.2% strikeout rate and a 5.6% walk rate.
For three full seasons from 2022-24, Phillips was a wipeout late-inning reliever. He combined for a 2.21 ERA with 44 saves, 34 holds and only nine blown saves, whiffing 29.6% of opponents with a 6.5% walk rate. His 2025 campaign got out to a strong start as well, with 5 2/3 shutout frames and six strikeouts. Phillips hit the injured list early in the year, however, and by late May the team announced that he’d require a Tommy John procedure, sidelining him for what’ll likely be 13 to 14 months.
Phillips figures to aim for a return around the All-Star break, give or take a couple weeks. If he’s able to do so, he’ll be a prominent midseason boon to the bullpen — effectively the same as picking up a prominent reliever ahead of the trade deadline. There’s risk in any pitcher coming back from major surgery, but if it works out, he’ll be healthy for October, which has been the Dodgers’ primary concern (relative to the regular season) with all their higher-end pitchers in recent seasons.
The Dodgers are an annual luxury tax payor and are well into the top bracket of penalization. Phillips will come with the maximum 110% tax on his salary, meaning he’ll cost the Dodgers $13.65MM overall. It’s a steep price to pay, particularly relative to the risk, but the Dodgers’ spending knows virtually no bounds.
As for Rortvedt, he’ll likely head back to the waiver wire on the heels of his latest DFA. He ended the season on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster and quickly inked a $1.25MM deal to avoid arbitration. The Dodgers then placed him on waivers, hoping he’d clear and could then be stashed in Triple-A Oklahoma City as upper-level depth. Ideally, the $1.25MM salary would’ve dissuaded other clubs from claiming him while also giving Rortvedt a reason to accept the minor league assignment; he has enough service time to reject an outright in favor of free agency but not enough to do so while retaining his guaranteed salary.
The Reds scooped Rortvedt up anyhow and carried him on the 40-man roster for much of the offseason. When he was designated for assignment earlier this month, the Dodgers placed a claim to bring Rortvedt back to the organization. They’ll now hope to pass him through waivers, as they initially planned.
It’s easy to see why clubs would be happy to have the out-of-options Rortvedt in the upper minors but might be wary of carrying him on the big league roster. He’s a plus defender behind the plate whose keen eye typically lends itself to strong walk rates. Rortvedt is strikeout-prone and consistently hits for a low average, however, and he has little in the way of in-game power. He’s a career .190/.279/.270 hitter in 633 MLB plate appearances and a .239/.328/.412 hitter in 574 Triple-A plate appearances.
The Dodgers can trade Rortvedt or place him on waivers at any point within the next five days. Waivers are a 48-hour process, so his DFA will be resolved within a maximum of one week.
61 Comments
$6.5 million pre-tax for a guy who might not pitch much this year. Just why?
They also designated Banda to get Rortveldt back. Phillips going directly to the 60 day IL to open a spot back up?
Dodgers have infinite money so why not?
If he comes back in July/August as planned then he plugs right into the mix for some leverage innings.
DS
“$6.5 million pre-tax for a guy who might not pitch much this year. Just why?”
Because that’s not much for a guy who can be a lights out reliever in the post season.
The Dodgers are 99% (per FG) to make the playoffs. They are adding for October, not March to September
Yeah, Dodgers think on a different level
For the playoffs. The entire focus of the Dodgers is the postseason.
He’ll earn his money on the postseason, assuming he stays healthy.
Because once he’s right, he’s Evan freaking Phillips. That’s the hope.
If he’s healthy and pitches up to his capabilities? The back of the bullpen looks great.
A short reunion with Ben.
Unless someone claims him, he may stick with his guaranteed MLB contract LAD signed him to in November.
weird. hard to question what this FO does but bodies flying everywhere.
Weird. 1 year deal, 6.5 million? Dodgers don’t care.
Why sign Phillips to a 1yr/$6.5M deal unless he significantly ahead of schedule? Standard timetable puts him back late August/Early September.
Cause they print money and could use him down the stretch
The oddest part of this signing is they could have waited until camp opened, stashed Phillips on the 60-day IL, and kept Rortvedt on the roster. In fact the IL should have opened today, and Phillips will definitely be on it. A head-scratcher for sure. Presumably they know something we don’t, but I can’t imagine what it is.
You can’t sign someone and place them directly on the 60-day IL. By rule, they have to first go on the 40-man roster.
Rortvedt was signed to that $1.25MM deal and more or less immediately placed on waivers early in the winter. The plan all along was to try to use that salary to pass him through waivers and stash him as AAA catching depth.
Phillips will hit the 60-day as soon as the Dodgers need another roster spot.
But if he is still recovering from TJ what was the urgency to sign Phillips and risk loosing Rortvedt ?
Being a 3rd string catcher has got to be the weirdest gig in baseball. Everyone kind of wants you as depth so you do get nice job security, and if your tools are interesting enough you’ll get a decent pay, but you also get passed around like a blunt all the time which sucks since you’re constantly moving and moving sucks.
Thanks for the clarification, Steve. But of course as we’ve seen a modest major league contract does little more than increase the chances of passing a player through waivers. The interest in Rortvedt by multiple teams suggests that he’s at high risk of being claimed.
pp
“what was the urgency to sign Phillips and risk loosing Rortvedt”
They were going to DFA him at some point to try to put him in AAA. They did it a few weeks ago. They are trying again.
BSLA
“he’s at high risk of being claimed.”
He made it to LA who has one of the last claims
Since the Dodgers were able to claim him off waivers from the Reds, doesn’t that mean that all the other teams passed on him?
Yeah, the Reds and Dodgers are kinda saying “f*** you” to each other.
Greg
“Since the Dodgers were able to claim him off waivers from the Reds, doesn’t that mean that all the other teams passed on him?”
I think it goes on regular season record
They are taking care of a guy that was huge in helping them win a world series. And he gets paid the entire salary of he’s signed now, vs partial if they signed him later.
And they really want Ben at AAA, so this forces the move they tried to be previously. Hopefully he clears waivers this time, now most rosters are fairly set and money has been allocated to other players.
Houston is looking for a backup C. Cincinnati might also be interested.
BS
“they could have waited until camp opened, stashed Phillips on the 60-day IL”
That’s what they are doing
“kept Rortvedt on the roster.”
He’s out of options. They’re trying to stash him in AAA
Good point on the options, and good luck to the Dodgers on sneaking this guy through waivers. The other question is why they needed to sign Phillips now. Was the interest in him so high that they needed to make the move now?
“why they needed to sign Phillips now”
Because they could fit him on the 40 player roster.
Blue Skies
Not did to me. Actually above board!
Most likely another team offered Phillips a deal. So Phillips wanted the Dodgers to agree to a contract now or he would take the other deal.
A disreputable team would reach an agreement but only announce it after Phillips could be out directly on 60 day list.
MLBT100
“Most likely another team offered Phillips a deal. So Phillips wanted the Dodgers to agree to a contract now or he would take the other deal.”
Why is that the most likely
It seems very plausible that the Dodgers waited to sign him until they could move someone to the 60 day IL
MLB: I suspect this is the case. Some of the takes here are that they signed him now because the Dodgers are rolling in cash and get their jollies by torching it. Though we’ve seen no rumors to support it, I think he must have had other suitors. And as Steve said in correcting my earlier misunderstanding of the rules, a player can’t be signed and sent directly to the 60-day IL; he has to occupy a 40-man spot first.
BSLA
He signed as soon as the Dodgers could open up a 40 player roster spot for him?
Why the added drama?
Say, what?
chem
As I just replied above, it’s for the post season
I agree. They will ideally want Phillips to get some tune up work in late summer, but this is all about the post-season.
If you are a Major League front office, you have to claim Rortvedt just to ransom him back to the Dodgers, right?
Yeah for sure.
No way anyone wants to pay 1.25M for a 3rd string catcher when they can just wait for the next time Drew Romo gets DFA’d.
The Reds should claim him back. After Stephenson and Trevino, their catching options are really thin.
VWAB
“The Reds should claim him back”.
Then they will be in the same situation as the Dodgers. They can’t put him in AAA
It’s a gamble but probably worth it for the Dodgers. He’s been mostly very good for a while before surgery.
“He’s a career .190/.279/.270 hitter in 633 MLB plate appearances and a .239/.328/.412 hitter in 574 Triple-A plate appearances.”
FGDC projection
.285 OBP/.107 ISO/70 wRC+
Before the Dodgers got him know it all fans would’ve said he was a worthless waste of time
If you’re going to sign Phillips and he’s hurt then sign Kiki now and get him paid
They might now that the 60 day list is open. But they would have to drop someone first.
It might be they wait for Ben to hopefully clear waivers and send him down. Then Phillips to the 60 day, and sign kike and put him on the 60 day. Then you have an open 40 man roster spot after all that.
Those 40-man spots have a way of opening up in Spring Training. Somebody no doubt will be injured, traded or DFA’d before opening day.
They signed him so they could bring in him and be part of his rehab
True, but since you hope everyone will be healthy, you plan ahead.
I’m hoping for peace on earth, but I’m not planning on it.
Hernandez has a much longer connection to the organization and is a pretty unique fit. It is likely they already have a deal with him they know he’ll honor.
Love Evan Phillips I’m so glad they brought him back. A little odd they didn’t just tender him a contract if this was the ultimate outcome.
It’s just roster timing
Nice! I was hoping he would bring him back. He’s really good when healthy and one of the few relievers I trust.
3 peat!!!!!
Evan has been a lights out reliever since the Dodgers got him. Do you guys see the look on his face when he is pitching? It is the look of someone you do not want to meet in a dark alley. His pitches have a lot of movement. So glad we resigned him. Obviously, he will be put on the DL as soon as possible; so there will be room on the 40 man once again. I think it is like everyone is saying. Friedman is hoping to sneak Rortvedt through waivers and stash him in Triple A for insurance.
13.65 million cost for at most half of a season ….. just wow
perhaps he’s further along in his rehab!
Vm
“for at most half of a season ”
And the playoffs
This team isn’t building for the regular season
The playoffs are a thing. Part of the Dodgers secret to revenue generation is having long playoff runs. That makes teams insane money.
Reds should pick up the catcher again lol.
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