Dodgers' Evan Phillips to have Tommy John surgery; Mookie Betts fractures toe

Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips is scheduled to get Tommy John surgery next week and will miss the rest of the season, manager Dave Roberts announced Friday.

Phillips had missed the last three weeks because of forearm discomfort — and had not progressed in his recovery despite initial optimism that he would only miss the minimum 15 days on the injured list.

“Obviously, very disappointing," Roberts said, acknowledging some unfortunate surprise that what started as a seemingly minor issue became so severe. “More disappointed for Evan, but he just wasn't responding to the rest and then try to ramp back up. Ultimately, that was kind of the advice and the route he decided to go."

Phillips, 30, started this season in the IL while recovering from a partially torn rotator cuff he suffered in last year’s postseason.

He returned in late April and made seven scoreless appearances before getting hurt during the Dodgers' trip to Miami earlier this month.

“I do feel like I can still contribute,” Phillips said at the time of his initial placement on the IL as a “precautionary” move. “But I think what it comes down to is we don’t want to mess around with something in early May.”

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The abundance of caution didn’t lead to a better result.

Despite getting plasma-rich platelet injections, according to general manager Brandon Gomes, Phillips’ arm didn’t feel right as he attempted to restart playing catch in recent days.

"As we started getting into it, it wasn't really responding,” Gomes said. “We felt like this could be a possibility. So as he got deeper into the process and it wasn't really getting better, the decision to do it was pretty much evident with our information.”

Asked if Phillips’ elbow injury might have been a byproduct of his offseason shoulder issue, Gomes shrugged.

"It's tough to go down a thousand different rabbit holes."

Without Phillips, the Dodgers will be down one of their most trusted right-handed arms in recent years. Already, the club had been without Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech, Kirby Yates and Brusdar Graterol because of injuries. While they’re all expected to return in the coming weeks (in Kopech and Yates’ case) and months, Phillips’ absence will nonetheless leave a hole after posting a 2.22 ERA and 45 saves over five seasons with the Dodgers.

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“Any time you lose that quality of a reliever, both on the field and the impact he has around the other guys, obviously it's going to hurt,” Gomes said. “But we have a really talented group that's there right now and guys that should be coming back.”

The Dodgers have begun adding externally, acquiring former Cincinnati Reds closer Alexis Díaz in a trade Thursday as the extent of Phillips’ diagnosis was becoming clear.

“Part of the Díaz trade was like, 'OK, we can potentially backfill there,'" Gomes said. “[But] that was in the works for a little while. Just kind of exploring different ways to continue to add to our depth.”

Betts out with toe injury

Shortstop Mookie Betts was not in the team’s lineup for Friday’s series opener against the New York Yankees because of a fractured toe.

Betts said he fractured his toe after banging it against a wall at home while walking to the bathroom in the dark. He was initially expected to play Friday, but had trouble putting on his cleats before the game.

Roberts said Betts isn't expected to go on the injured list. Betts said he expects to be back in a couple days.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.