SF Giants gifted golden chance by Dodgers to sign former elite reliever

The non-tender deadline was on Friday and the SF Giants made some decisions on some borderline players. Teams all around the league non-tendered players and the Los Angeles Dodgers may have given the Giants a gift by non-tendering reliever Evan Philliips.

Phillips was one of several non-tendered players who has put up solid numbers in the past who could make for an interesting reclamation project. With the Giants needing help in their bullpen, they would be wise to take a look at Phillips.

SF Giants should try to poach Evan Phillips from Dodgers

The right-handed reliever is coming off an injury-plagued 2025 season in which he had rotator cuff issues and eventually had to have Tommy John surgery. The expectation is that he will be ready to pitch in the big leagues again in the second half of the 2026 season.

That is not ideal for a Giants team that needs bullpen help immediately, but it would not be a terrible idea to take a flyer on a guy who has put up some really impressive numbers in the past.

In 2022 with La he had a 1.14 ERA in 63 innings pitched and followed that up in 2023 with a 2.05 ERA in 62 appearances with 24 saves. 2024 saw a bit of a decline as he ERA went up to 3.62 with 18 saves on the season.

The Giants would be betting that he could return to that kind of form once he is healthy. You never know how a guy will return coming back from Tommy John, but they have seen Robbie Ray bounce back nicely after he had his surgery.

However, both the Dodgers and Giants have bullpen needs this offseason so they may end up competing for some of the same guys. LA may very well want Phillips back and if they offer him more money than the Giants then it is tough to see him choosing San Francisco.

Both the Dodgers and Giants have been linked to pricey relievers like Devin Williams, but it seems more likely that the Giants will add a number of arms and have something of a competition in spring training and early in the year to determine the pecking order in the late innings.

Phillips makes sense as a guy coming off an injury who can be had at an affordable price but has enough upside that he could end up being a valuable arm for the Giants. Plus there would be the added benefit of annoying the Dodgers if he can pitch well in San Francisco.