The injuries keep coming

Brutal news for LA

The Dodgers got some brutal news on Friday, though it doesn’t come as a complete shock. When speaking with reporters, Dave Roberts said reliever Evan Phillips will miss the remainder of the season and undergo Tommy John surgery. Based on the timing of the surgery, this will likely knock Phillips out for the 2026 season as well.

Phillips was placed on the IL with right forearm discomfort on May 7. Initially, the injury didn’t sound like it was too severe. The day Phillips was placed on the IL, Dave Roberts said he probably could have pitched if needed. Roberts said he didn’t think Phillips would require an MRI.

Yeah, about that….

I was kind of expecting this news. Recent quotes from Roberts didn’t sound too optimistic about Phillips. Not to mention, the Dodgers acquired right-handed reliever Alexis Diaz from the Reds the other day. That was the indicator Phillips probably wasn’t going to return.

This is just terrible news for Phillips, who has had a rough stretch over the last eight months. If you remember, Phillips was left off the World Series roster as he dealt with a right rotator cuff strain in his shoulder. It cost him the World Series along with the first month of the regular season.

Phillips appeared in only seven games once he returned, pitching only 5.2 innings. He didn’t allow a run and had six strikeouts.

Not only is Phillips one of LA’s best relievers when healthy, he’s been an absolute force for the Dodgers in October. Phillips has allowed zero runs in his 12 postseason appearances. In 15.1 innings, he’s allowed only seven hits and has 21 strikeouts.

2026 will be the final year of arbitration for Phillips before he’s set to become a free agent in 2027. It’ll be interesting to see how the Dodgers handle his contract situation this offseason. Hopefully they can bring him back on a team-friendly deal like they did with Blake Treinen when he was recovering from injury.

Get a night light!

There was another injury on Friday night, this one much more surprising. Mookie Betts wasn’t in the starting lineup, which was odd considering the Dodgers had the previous day off.

Well apparently, Betts is dealing with a fractured toe. Not from something that happened on the baseball field, but because he banged his toe against a wall walking to the bathroom in the dark while at home.

Between this and the Freddie injury in the shower, can we please be more careful around the house?!

Betts has already been ruled out for the series, but Roberts seems confident this won’t require an IL stint. He also said Freeman and Tommy Edman were ‘day-to-day’ and wouldn’t require an IL stint, so I’ll just wait and see where this one goes.

Apparently the pain was so severe, Betts couldn’t even put his shoe on. I’ve stubbed my toe numerous times, but never to the point where I couldn’t put a shoe on. How hard did he walk into that wall???

I guess the good news is that it could have been worse? Hopefully he’s feeling better and able to return on Monday.