Evan Phillips emerging as a fit for Cubs |
Dustin Riese
· · 3 hours ago
Building a bullpen is one of the toughest things to do in Major League Baseball, and the Chicago Cubs are no strangers to doing that. Over the past few seasons, Jed Hoyer and the Cubs have done a phenomenal job piecing together a bullpen that is often filled with one-year or flyer-type deals that the Cubs are hoping to hit.
You have situations where most of those deals pan out, and 2025 was a prime example, as the Cubs had one of the better bullpens in the game. You also have situations like 2024, when most of their offseason additions struggled out of the gate, forcing the Cubs to try to fix things from within on the fly. Heading into the 2026 season, the Cubs only had two relievers under contract, as Porter Hodge and Daniel Palencia were the only ones guaranteed to be on this team next season. The Cubs added a major arm in Phil Maton over the weekend, as he is expected to fill a variety of roles for this team in 2026. Even then, the Cubs still have four to five relief spots to fill before the season, and it's only a matter of time before we see the direction Hoyer tends to go with this team and the bullpen. If the Cubs are going to continue to search the free agent market for outside additions, Maton may be the top of the class among the additions the Cubs make, but he certainly won't be the only addition, as former Los Angeles Dodger reliever Evan Phillips is starting to gain plenty of attention among the Cubs' higher-ups. Over the past few seasons, the Cubs have done their best to dive into the Dodgers' pen, as Ryan Brasier and Yency Almonte have both been a part of the Cubs' pen the past two seasons. Both performed well during their time with the Dodgers, especially Brasier, but it was a much different story in Chicago. Whether it be the injuries they sustained or just the inability to be consistently effective, neither of them was able to live up to their expectations on the Northside, which is why they are no longer part of this team. If the Cubs are looking at Phillips as a bullpen option, they would need him to end that trend, as he would be tasked with filling in some major holes left by the ones leaving. While Phillips may have been a top reliever for the Dodgers for several seasons, he is coming off Tommy John surgery in June, which makes his availability this season a massive question mark. This would become a two-year deal with the Cubs banking on him being ready to go in 2027 should there be an MLB season. Had he not gotten injured, there is a high likelihood that Phillips wouldn't even be on the market, as the Dodgers elected not to tender him through the arbitration process. Given when his surgery took place, any production from him next season would be a win, as he could be a late-season addition to your pen with hopes of doing what he has always done. While far from the only reliever on Chicago’s radar, Phillips profiles as the type of pitcher the Cubs have successfully identified and incorporated into the bullpen as the Cubs continue to identify their needs and won't hesitate to go after who they feel fills those needs. Even if he isn't one of the top relievers in the game anymore, the 31-year-old isn't that far removed from that level and still would be a better option than some of the other arms the Cubs had down the stretch last season. After struggling to find his footing with the Orioles with an ERA near 5.00 in three-plus seasons, Phillips became a fixture in the Dodgers pen in 2022 and performed well for the next three years. Going back to the 2022 season, Phillips appeared in at least 61 games in each of the following three seasons, and tossed 54 innings or more each time. With that came an impressive 2.69 ERA, including a ridiculous 1.14 ERA in 2022, which was by far his best season as a pro. Had he not gotten hurt last season, there was a high probability that 2025 would've been more of the same, as Phillips hadn't allowed a run in seven appearances leading up to his injury. What makes Phillips such a promising target is his underlying numbers, which would all play well at Wrigley Field. Not only does he have the command with under three walks per nine innings and over 10 strikeouts per nine, but he also keeps the ball in the yard with a well below average home run rate. Phillips has also been an elite ground-ball pitcher, hovering around 54% the past few seasons, but was near 65% last year during his limited time on the mound. That alone is huge at Wrigley, as he could be a lockdown middle reliever for the Cubs. Armed with a 95-97 MPH pre-injury fastball, it will be curious to see what his velocity will be when he returns, but he is undoubtedly a bounce-back candidate that the Cubs will look into.
