Braves bring Evan Phillips back on a three-year, $35 million deal

The Braves signed Evan Phillips to a three-year, $35 million contract Thursday, bringing back the right-hander who began his major-league career in Atlanta. The club announced salaries of $11 million in both 2027 and 2028, followed by $13 million in 2029.

Atlanta is paying for an established late-inning pitcher whose most recent season was also a comeback. Phillips returned from Tommy John surgery in July and made 31 regular-season appearances for the Dodgers, with a 3.46 ERA, 33 strikeouts and ten earned runs allowed in 26 innings.

The finish was stronger than the full-season line. The Braves’ announcement credits him with a 1.46 ERA and 19 strikeouts over his final 14 games, covering 12⅓ innings, followed by five scoreless postseason appearances. That gives Atlanta recent evidence of effective work after the layoff, while leaving a much smaller workload than his earlier full seasons.

The performance case and the workload question

From 2022 through 2024, Phillips pitched 179 regular-season innings for Los Angeles, allowing 44 earned runs and striking out 206. That works out to a 2.21 ERA. He also saved 44 games over those three seasons. The record supplies a substantial case beyond the last few weeks of 2026.

The two samples answer different questions. The earlier run shows why a club would entrust Phillips with important outs. The 26 innings this season show what he actually delivered after returning. A three-year commitment asks Atlanta to project both performance and availability across a longer stretch than that recent sample can establish.

His value need not depend on being assigned the ninth inning. A reliable reliever can protect a narrow lead against the heart of an order before the closer enters. More usable late-inning options also let a manager avoid leaning on the same arm on consecutive days. The signing gives Atlanta another experienced choice; it does not settle every bullpen role.

A return to the organization that drafted him

The Braves drafted Phillips in 2015, and he made four major-league appearances for Atlanta in 2018 before a trade to Baltimore. He subsequently pitched for Tampa Bay and Los Angeles. At 32, he returns with a very different record from the prospect Atlanta sent away.

Atlanta has committed $35 million through 2029 to a pitcher with a strong late-inning record. How often Phillips can take the ball will matter as much as what he does with it.