Veteran relief pitcher Evan Phillips was the first Dodgers free agent to find a home for 2027, as the right-hander signed a three-year, $35 million contract with the Atlanta Braves on Thursday.
In terms of average annual value, Phillips at $11.67 million per year is right in line with the other notable relief signing this week, with Emilio Pagán getting $11.5 million on his one-year deal with the Detroit Tigers. But Phillips, two years and four months younger than Pagán, got two more guaranteed seasons on his deal.
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Phillips was ranked has high as the 29th-best free agent on the market at MLB Trade Rumors, was No. 34 at CBS Sports, 36th at FanGraphs, 46th at Yahoo Sports, and No. 48 at both NBC Sports and Baseball Prospectus. Phillips was not among the 50 free agents ranked by Kiley McDaniel at ESPN, nor was Phillips in the top 40 for Keith Law at The Athletic, nor the top 50 from Deesha Thosar and Rowan Kavner at Fox Sports.
One transaction does not a market make, but a three-year contract for Phillips after pitching half a season upon returning from Tommy John surgery suggests a strong earning potential for relievers this offseason. Last offseason, only three relief pitchers signed three-year deals:
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Devin Williams (Mets): 3 years, $51 million
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Robert Suarez (Braves): 3 years, $45 million
Suarez saved 76 games in his two previous seasons before his contract, Díaz had 48 saves in his previous two years, and Williams saved 32 games in 2024-25 before joining the Mets. Phillips saved 42 games between 2023-24, but totaled two saves in his 38 total appearances over the previous two years.
Let’s see how some of these outlets projected what Phillips’ contract might have been:
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Not getting ranked at ESPN, The Athletic (by neither Keith Law nor Tim Britton), nor Fox Sports really limited the contract projections for Phillips, compared to say Alex Vesia, who had a series of two-year projections and one three-year projection at near the AAV Phillips achieved with his deal.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
