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  • Tom VanHaaren, ESPN Staff WriterJan 24, 2024, 09:39 PM ET

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    • ESPN staff writer
    • Joined ESPN in 2011
    • Graduated from Central Michigan

In his time as Michigan‘s head coach, Jim Harbaugh created media frenzies, dustups with coaches, viral moments with recruits and everything in between.

Hired in late 2014 to replace Brady Hoke as the Wolverines’ coach, Harbaugh wasted no time once in Ann Arbor to ruffle feathers by poking at coaches for breaking rules and pushing the limits on what the NCAA would allow through satellite camps across the country.

He climbed trees, had sleepovers and made cakes for recruits to try to win them over. After three Big Ten titles, three College Football Playoff appearances and having delivered his alma mater its first national title since 1997, Harbaugh accepted the head coaching job with the Los Angeles Chargers, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Since he is departing the college football world, here is a look at some of his more memorable and viral moments after joining Michigan in 2014.

Feb. 7, 2015: Harbaugh had a commitment from ESPN 300 running back Mike Weber in the 2015 class, a top prospect out of Detroit Cass Tech. Weber decommitted from the Wolverines in the middle of the fourth quarter of the team’s loss to Maryland in the 2014 season.

Harbaugh fought to get Weber back in the class, but he ultimately signed with Ohio State. Weber said at the time that running backs coach Stan Drayton was a big part of his commitment, but the Buckeyes’ running backs coach left to take the same position with the Chicago Bears the day after Weber signed his national letter of intent with Ohio State.

Harbaugh took the opportunity to tweet about the situation.

Weber stuck with Ohio State and played four seasons for the Buckeyes, before he was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2019 NFL draft.

March 3, 2015: Harbaugh had been known to be a fan of TV star Judge Judy, even attending a taping of her show with his father, Jack.

So, he, naturally, took to Twitter to congratulate Judge Judy on a contract extension.

He has since played cards with the judge and has publicly talked about his admiration for her and the show.

“I’m a big fan of the ‘Judge Judy’ show,” Harbaugh told reporters at the 2013 NFL combine. “And when you lie in Judge Judy’s courtroom, it’s over, your credibility is completely lost, you stand no chance of winning that case. So, I learned that from her. It’s very powerful.”

March 14, 2015: The 2016 recruiting class is when Harbaugh really started to pull out all the stops on the recruiting trail. The staff put a ton of effort and creativity into recruiting ESPN 300 defensive lineman Boss Tagaloa, from California.

That included Harbaugh recreating a “promposal” poster that Tagaloa used to ask someone to prom. Harbaugh posed for a picture with a sign of his own that read, ‘UM will be sour without you, so let’s make it sweet. MICH?’

Tagaloa, however, ended up signing with UCLA.

April 24, 2015: The satellite camp idea was born. Harbaugh’s plan was to host football camps around the country, especially in SEC states.

As one of the first big ideas that Harbaugh implemented, it ruffled the feathers of many other college coaches. Then-Alabama coach Nick Saban called them, “ridiculous.” Harbaugh was accused of creating the camps as a recruiting tool, knowing that some conferences wouldn’t allow their programs to travel more than 50 miles to attend high school camps.

Harbaugh tweeted out an invitation to any other college coach that wanted to attend Michigan’s camp.

To get around the 50-mile rule for some schools, Harbaugh included an invitation for those coaches to come as guest speakers at the camp.

Then-ACC commissioner John Swofford said at the time that his conference would be in favor of a rule that would prohibit satellite camps across the country.

“We just don’t feel like it’s a healthy part of the recruiting process in college football,” Swofford said at the time. “We may have to ultimately reconsider it if the rules continue to allow it, because we’re not going to put ourselves in a competitive disadvantage in recruiting if we were to feel like we were disadvantaged, but our primary purpose right now is to try to gain support for a national rule that prohibits it.”

The NCAA first banned satellite camps, which triggered one of Harbaugh’s first public criticisms of the NCAA, but then rescinded the ban and allowed the camps to continue.

June 4, 2015: The tour of satellite camps was announced in June and was called the Summer Swarm. It consisted of nine locations, starting in Indianapolis, traveling to Alabama, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, California and eventually finishing back in Michigan. At the stops, Harbaugh would often wear jerseys representing local teams.

The tour spanned eight days and cost Michigan $211,948 in total, according to FOIA requests by MLive.

June 5, 2015: The Summer Swarm had already garnered attention from media and coaches, but Harbaugh wasted no time in increasing visibility by taking his shirt off while playing a pickup game at one of the camps.

He kept his signature khakis on while playing a game of shirts and skins.

“I was like a pig in slop,” Harbaugh said at the camp. “Man, you guys are in shape. You’ve got a heart for football, a face for football and I love being around you guys. That was a fun, fun day.”

June 25, 2015: Once the Swarm Tour was over, Harbaugh was back in Ann Arbor, entertaining recruits. He took tight end recruit Naseir Upshur and a few others out for ice cream, which Upshur documented on Twitter.

This was one of the more tame recruiting events, but given that Harbaugh was fresh off of his cross-country antics, it once again made news.

Aug. 12, 2015: Prior to the start of his first season as Michigan head coach, Harbaugh told reporters that after the wild tour, viral headlines and more publicity than Michigan had seen in quite some time, he and the team would be headed into submarine mode.

“We’re going into a submarine, and you won’t see us for a while,” Harbaugh said at the time. “You won’t hear from us, you won’t see us, we’ll be working. We’ll be in a bunker until we decide we’re not.”

No one from the team emerged from the submarine publicly until August 27, when a few players talked to the media. Offensive lineman Kyle Kalis was one of the first players to surface.

“It was definitely an experience,” Kalis said. “One that I’ll tell my kids about when I’m older. It’s definitely been a camp unlike any we’ve had before, and it’s going to pay dividends for us down the road.”

Nov., 2015: Harbaugh’s diet plan was revealed.

“I take a vitamin every day. It’s called a steak. I truly believe the No. 1 natural steroid is sleep, and the No. 2 natural steroid is milk, whole milk. Three would be water. Four would be steak. It goes with everything.”

Harbaugh, who once appeared in a “Got Milk” ad, later told Dan Patrick that he didn’t like having anything less than whole milk at the team’s dining hall.

“We refuse to drink the candy-ass skim milk or the 1 percent,” Harbaugh said. “We refuse. We won’t have any of that.”

In 2016, Harbaugh was photographed at an Ann Arbor steakhouse ready to enjoy both of his favorite foods.

Nov. 18, 2015: Harbaugh had done the promposal recreation for recruits and members of his staff had written letters, but they moved on to baking birthday cakes for their prospects.

Jonathan Jones was only the recipient of a birthday cake tweet, so he didn’t actually get to eat the cake. It’s the thought that counts, though, and maybe Harbaugh and his staff enjoyed some of the cake in honor of Jones and his birthday.

They did it again for defensive lineman Jordan Elliott, making a cake that was supposed to look like the state of Texas as Elliott was from Texas. It worked only briefly, as Eliott committed to Michigan, but he eventually flipped to Texas.

January 14, 2016: Following a 10-3 season, this is when Harbaugh took the recruiting tactics to another level and had a sleepover at kicker Quinn Nordin’s house. The justification was that there was no limit as to how long an in-home visit could last.

So, in Harbaugh’s mind, if he stayed the night and stayed the rest of the day, it was all still one visit.

The news that the sleepover was happening spread quickly and Nordin’s neighbors decided to troll Harbaugh with a giant sign displaying the score of that year’s Michigan-Michigan State game which the Spartans had won.

Harbaugh then went to Nordin’s high school in the morning and eventually rode in the car with him to Ann Arbor for a visit to Michigan.

January 19, 2016: Harbaugh then traveled to the West Coast to continue recruiting Tagaloa, who got the promposal re-creation. This time, Harbaugh was attending class with the defensive tackle at his high school.

January 19, 2016: He stayed in California to recruit cornerback David Long.

They were outside of Long’s house, playing catch with Long and his siblings. Before they knew it, Harbaugh was climbing a tree.

“My little sister asked if he could climb the tree,” Long said at the time. “He was just trying to fulfill her request. He ended up putting my little brother up instead, because he never actually made it up.”

There was a picture that circulated online showing Harbaugh climbing the tree while wearing his khaki pants.

January 20, 2016: The sleepover with Nordin was such a success that Harbaugh decided to do it again, this time with defensive end Connor Murphy.

Harbaugh had history with the Murphy family, because he recruited Connor’s older brother Trent to Stanford. Harbaugh had babysat for Connor once when he was younger, but this time he was there recruiting the younger Murphy.

Feb. 24, 2016: The satellite camps had created quite the dust up among other coaches who weren’t happy about the decision to allow the camps to continue.

“(Michigan is) obviously trying to gain a competitive advantage, and obviously that’s their right,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said at the time. “But I think the NCAA in due time will have to step in and keep it from getting out of hand.”

That comment seemed pretty tame, but Harbaugh took offense to it and tweeted back at Smart.

Not much came from the exchange, but Harbaugh wasn’t done calling out opposing coaches.

March 3, 2016: Harbaugh and his staff were getting ready for their camp at IMG Academy in Florida, when then Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said he would attend, along with Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio.

Dantonio joked with Bielema that they could meet in Florida for lunch, which caused then-Tennessee coach Butch Jones to say he, too, would meet them for lunch in Florida.

That didn’t sit well with Harbaugh, who subtweeted Jones by calling him his Rocky Top colleague.

April 2, 2016: This begins the period when Harbaugh began going on stage with rappers. That included joining Lil Dicky, who was performing in Ann Arbor, for a rendition of the National Anthem.

April 13, 2016: Just 11 days after going on stage with Lil Dicky, Harbaugh spent time with rap group Migos before their concert in Detroit.

The group asked Harbaugh to come on stage and dab with them, so they naturally had to ice him out with jewelry before he made his appearance.

Harbaugh did go on stage and was doused with water while dancing during the concert.

Harbaugh would later invite the group back to Ann Arbor.

May 31, 2016: Harbaugh is back to throwing shade at opposing coaches, this time at Saban.

At SEC meetings, Saban had talked about despising satellite camps and said college football was moving towards the wild, wild west. His comments drew the ire of Harbaugh and resulted in his tweet.

Saban later fired back at Harbaugh through reporters.

“I don’t really care what he thinks or tweets,” Saban said. “I say what I think is best for college football and the players.”

June 9, 2016: Harbaugh had built a relationship with the staff and administration at Paramus Catholic high school through recruiting Paramus players Jabrill Peppers and Rashan Gary.

The plan was for the coaches to come to Paramus Catholic for a satellite camp, but the NCAA put a temporary ban on the camps at the time. That led to Harbaugh coming to the school and giving the commencement speech for the graduating class.

The coaches were recruiting linebacker Drew Singleton and a few other players from the team, so it gave Harbaugh a chance to still show up and have a presence at the school.

July 18, 2016: Harbaugh continued appearing on the rap scene, this time with artist Bailey, in a song called, “Who’s got it better than us?” That is, of course, Harbaugh’s signature saying.

July 14, 2016: Harbaugh ended the camp tour early, because there was fear of the Zeka virus in American Samoa, where a camp was supposed to be held. He instead stayed in California and took a trip to Disneyland, where he ran into talk show host Jerry Springer.

Oct. 15, 2016: Recruiting in the San Francisco area, Harbaugh held the down marker on a chain gang at a high school game.

Nov. 12, 2016: And if we’re talking about random, Harbaugh went on a radio show and spoke about his admiration for Spongebob Squarepants.

“I love his attitude,” Harbaugh said at the time. “He attacks each day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind! I’ve kind of modeled my behavior after him. We all should. What a great employee he is. He’s a go-getter. He’s always got a bounce to his step. He’s got pizzazz. He puts his heart and soul into making those crabby patties. I think he’s awesome.”

April 26, 2017: At this time, Harbaugh started a tradition of taking the team to meaningful places during the offseason.

In 2017, he took the team to Italy, where Harbaugh had the chance to meet the Pope. Of course, upon meeting Pope Francis, Harbaugh gave him a Michigan helmet and Jordan shoes.

If you were hoping that the pontiff would make an appearance while wearing the Jordans, it hasn’t happened yet.

April 28, 2017: While in Italy, Harbaugh did an impression of Maximus from the movie “Gladiator.”

And sang some opera for reporters.

Sep. 30, 2017: During a bye week, Harbaugh went to Michigan’s Water Carnival and participated in some of the platform diving. He, of course, did it in khakis.

He tried multiple times in what was determined to be a cannonball contest.

July 19, 2018: “Car and Driver” went to Ann Arbor to do a video segment with Harbaugh and a Dodge Charger. Harbaugh drove to his childhood house, and then drove the car into the Big House and did doughnuts on the turf.

July 30, 2018: In a story in Bleacher Report, Harbaugh is quoted as telling quarterback Wilton Speight to avoid chicken “because it’s a nervous bird.”

Aug. 6, 2020: During a conference call among Big Ten coaches, Harbaugh reportedly interrupted Ohio State coach Ryan Day and asked him about a photo that showed then assistant coach Al Washington coaching the linebackers during a time on the calendar when it wasn’t permitted.

Day reportedly responded by telling Harbaugh to worry about his team. After the call, Bucknuts reported that Day told his team that Michigan should hope for a mercy rule, because they’re going to, “hang 100 on them.”

Sep. 15, 2020: This is the last time that Harbaugh tweeted, perhaps ending an epic run of one of the great Twitter beefers.

Nov. 28, 2021: After Day said Ohio State was going to hang 100 points on Michigan, the Wolverines beat Ohio State 42-27. Harbaugh wasted no time in talking trash to Day when asked in his postgame press conference what he thought of Ohio State’s trash talking in recent years.

“Sometimes there are people standing on third base that think they hit a triple,” Harbaugh said at the time.”But they didn’t.”

Harbaugh eventually explained on a radio show on 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit that it was a shot at Day.

“It was definitely a counterpunch by me, to the comment that they were going to hang 100 on us, etcetera,” Harbaugh said on the radio. “Kind of like Sugar Ray Robinson.”

Jan. 20, 2022: While Harbaugh hasn’t been on social media, it doesn’t mean he hasn’t gone viral. While recruiting players at Jesuit High School in Tampa, Florida, he decided to do squats in the weight room.

Dec. 11, 2022: In-home visits with Harbaugh have already produced sleep overs and tree-climbing escapades.

In a seemingly tamer moment, Harbaugh helped wash the dishes at receiver Semaj Morgan’s house on a visit.

Feb. 22, 2023: Picture yourself driving on a road at night, when you come across a large tree blocking your way. Now imagine you look out your windshield to see Jim Harbaugh trying to move the tree in front of you.

That is exactly what happened to one driver near Ann Arbor, as Harbaugh made the news for helping a police officer move a tree out of the road. The ordeal was caught on the police camera and footage was later shared online.

Sep. 9, 2023: While serving a three-game suspension for NCAA recruiting violations, Harbaugh was back working with the referee crew.

Sep. 30, 2023: Defensive tackle Kenneth Grant intercepted a pass against Nebraska, which was quite the feat for a 6-foot-3, 339-pound lineman. After the game was over, when everyone was in the locker room, Harbaugh decided that the whole team should sing the song, “For he’s a jolly good fellow,” to Grant.

The song somehow stuck with the team and they sang it after every game this season.

Nov. 6, 2023: Pro wrestling icon Ric Flair and Harbaugh became friends when Harbaugh played for the Chicago Bears and have spent time together ever since.

Flair showed up to Ann Arbor for a visit in November and exited the building without his signature, “Woo.”

Nov. 13, 2023: Harbaugh sounded as though he was losing his voice, but insisted he wasn’t sick.

Instead, he insisted that he is the “iron wall that viruses bash against” and he’ll do “push ups and eat an apple” to get better.

Nov. 20, 2023: In one of his final odd statements as Michigan coach, Harbaugh quoted Ted Lasso.

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Sources: Dodgers’ Betts out due to fractured toe

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May 31, 2025

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Sources: Dodgers' Betts out due to fractured toe

  • Alden GonzalezMay 30, 2025, 08:17 PM ET

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      ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.

LOS ANGELES — Mookie Betts stubbed a toe in his left foot during an off-the-field incident and missed the opener of the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ highly anticipated series against the New York Yankees on Friday.

Betts is not expected to go on the injured list, according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, but he will not start against the Yankees on Saturday or Sunday. Roberts said the hope is that Betts will return to the lineup shortly thereafter.

“For me, right now, it’s just day-to-day,” Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 8-5, come-from-behind win.

The incident, which affected the tip of Betts’ second toe, was believed to have occurred late Wednesday night, after the Dodgers returned from a six-game road trip, when Betts banged his toe against a piece of furniture at his house. Betts called Roberts to inform him about his toe on Friday morning, then underwent X-rays at Dodger Stadium later that afternoon.

Those X-rays revealed a fracture, a source told ESPN, confirming what Betts told the Los Angeles Times after Friday’s game. The Dodgers’ training staff will spend the weekend attempting to get the swelling down on his toe. At this point, the Dodgers don’t believe he can make the injury any worse by playing on it.

Said Roberts: “It’s going to be one of those situations per his [pain] tolerance.”

Betts’ injury isn’t the Dodgers’ most serious at the moment. Late-inning reliever Evan Phillips, who was rehabbing a forearm injury, didn’t feel right playing catch earlier this week and will undergo Tommy John surgery next week, knocking him out for all of 2025 and most of 2026.

Phillips, 30, was released by the Baltimore Orioles in August 2021 and designated for assignment by the Tampa Bay Rays less than two weeks later. The Dodgers picked him up and turned him into a valuable late-game option. From 2022 to 2024, Phillips posted a 2.21 ERA and 0.92 WHIP, saved 44 games and struck out 206 batters in 179 regular-season innings.

But Phillips dealt with arm issues during last year’s postseason run and was left off the team’s World Series roster. He then went on the IL because of a rotator cuff strain in the middle of March, returned a month later, notched seven scoreless appearances, then went back on the IL on May 7 because of what the team called forearm discomfort. Platelet-rich-plasma injections did not take. Phillips never got better.

“As we started getting into it, it wasn’t really responding,” Dodgers general manager Brandon 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.” The loss of Phillips is coupled with the Dodgers having four other high-leverage relievers on the IL — Brusdar Graterol, Blake Treinen, Kirby Yates and Michael Kopech, all of whom are right-handed.

The Dodgers tried to backfill some of that depth by trading for former All-Star closer Alexis Diaz on Thursday. But Diaz, who struggled so badly this season that the Cincinnati Reds optioned him to Triple-A, will initially work out of the Dodgers’ spring training complex in Glendale, Arizona.

The Dodgers also have three starting pitchers — Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki — recovering from shoulder injuries, with Shohei Ohtani not expected to join the rotation until sometime after the All-Star break.

The lineup, at least, had been healthy. Until now.

Betts, 32, got off to a slow start but was still slashing .254/.338/.405 with eight home runs and five stolen bases while slotting between the hot-hitting Ohtani and Freddie Freeman in the No. 2 spot. More notably, Betts had proved to be a capable major league shortstop after working during the offseason at the position.

The hope is that the toe injury doesn’t set him back much longer than the rest of this weekend.

In the meantime, Miguel Rojas will continue to get starts at shortstop.

“It’s a good part about having depth,” Gomes said. “Keep the train moving.”

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Trout returns in new spot, has hit in Angels’ win

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May 31, 2025

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Trout returns in new spot, has hit in Angels' win

  • Associated Press

May 30, 2025, 11:58 PM ET

CLEVELAND — Mike Trout originally expected to return to the Los Angeles Angels‘ lineup Monday in Boston.

But the timeline was moved up one series and three days.

Trout was activated off the injured list and went 1-for-5 as the designated hitter in Friday night’s 4-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians. The Angels slugger missed 26 games because of soreness in his left knee that was eventually diagnosed as a bone bruise. The three-time American League MVP had two operations last year on the knee after tearing his meniscus.

“Felt good. Struck out on two at-bats, but other than that, felt all right,” said Trout, who batted fifth for the first time in 1,532 starts.

Trout lined a base hit to left-center in the fourth inning. He thought he had a hit in his first at-bat in the second inning, but Cleveland third baseman José Ramírez made a nice grab on a low line drive.

“I thought he had some good at-bats, considering that he hadn’t seen live pitching in a while,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “He hit the ball hard three times today. They made some good pitches when he struck out. But welcome back, Mike.”

Trout’s return also helped the Angels snap a five-game losing streak and improve to 28-30.

It was the first time since Sept. 26, 2011, Trout’s rookie season, that he started a game hitting lower than third.

Washington is happy to have Trout back, especially because he noted Trout wasn’t aggressive in rushing in his return. Washington also knows that Trout isn’t ready to return to his normal spot batting second or third.

“He hasn’t seen anything. So when you look at what we have, that’s where he sits,” Washington said before the game. “It doesn’t make sense for him to protect [Logan] O’Hoppe. So, I’ll put Mike behind him to protect O’Hoppe. He’s not ready to be at the top of the lineup, especially with those guys up there. As we go along the next couple of days, he’s not going to remain fifth.”

The 33-year-old Trout is hitting .180 with 9 home runs, 18 RBIs and a .712 OPS in 30 games. He will be the designated hitter for the weekend series against the Guardians before possibly returning to right field when the Halos head to Boston on Monday for a three-game series.

Even though Trout has shied away from wanting to be the designated hitter, he has done well in that spot. In eight games this season, he is 9-for-33 (.273) with 6 home runs and 9 RBIs.

Trout said whether he plays more games than originally planned at DH the remainder of the season is something that remains to be seen.

“Bone bruises are tricky. I know I am going to be sore, but I can deal with it,” he said. “I definitely have to be cautious, especially the first couple games.”

Trout has missed 404 of the Angels’ 665 games — almost 60% — since May 17, 2021, when he tore his calf muscle against Cleveland and was sidelined for the rest of that season. This is the fifth straight year he has had a stint of at least 25 games on the IL.

He missed five weeks of the 2022 season because of a back injury, and all but one game after July 3, 2023, after he broke a bone in his hand on a foul ball. Trout played in 29 games last season before the meniscus injury.

“There’s so many games that any sense of newness or something to make you excited is something that you’d latch on to. So, today is definitely a moment like that,” O’Hoppe said about Trout’s return. “He’s the heart of this organization. So, we’re happy to have our heart beating again for sure.”

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L.A.’s Betts day-to-day after stubbing toe in mishap

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8 hours ago

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May 31, 2025

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Sources: Dodgers' Betts out due to fractured toe

  • Alden GonzalezMay 30, 2025, 08:17 PM ET

    Close

      ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.

LOS ANGELES — Mookie Betts stubbed a toe on his left foot during an off-the-field incident and was out of the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ lineup Friday night for the opener of a highly anticipated weekend series against the New York Yankees.

Betts was scheduled to undergo X-rays at Dodger Stadium before first pitch. Until then, the team will hope for the best.

“It’s day-to-day right now,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So, that’s where we’re at.”

The incident — affecting Betts’ second toe — was believed to occur late Wednesday night, after the Dodgers returned from a six-game road trip through New York and Cleveland. Roberts didn’t find out until Betts called him Friday morning. He was vague on the details.

“I really don’t know,” Roberts said when asked how the injury occurred. “I think it was at home. It’s probably a dresser, nightstand, something like that. It’s just kind of an accident. I think that Mookie will be able to give more context, but that’s kind of from the training staff what I heard. So hopefully, it’s benign, it’s negative. Not sure, but I feel confident saying it’s day-to-day … but putting on a shoe today was difficult for him.”

Betts’ injury isn’t the Dodgers’ most serious at the moment. Late-inning reliever Evan Phillips, who was rehabbing a forearm injury, didn’t feel right playing catch earlier this week and will undergo Tommy John surgery next week, knocking him out for all of 2025 and most of 2026.

Phillips, 30, was released by the Baltimore Orioles in August 2021 and designated for assignment by the Tampa Bay Rays less than two weeks later. The Dodgers picked him up and turned him into a valuable late-game option. From 2022 to 2024, Phillips posted a 2.21 ERA and 0.92 WHIP, saved 44 games and struck out 206 batters in 179 regular-season innings.

But Phillips dealt with arm issues during last year’s postseason run and was left off the team’s World Series roster. He then went on the IL because of a rotator cuff strain in the middle of March, returned a month later, notched seven scoreless appearances, then went back on the IL on May 7 because of what the team called forearm discomfort. Platelet-rich-plasma injections did not take. Phillips never got better.

“As we started getting into it, it wasn’t really responding,” Dodgers general manager Brandon 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.”

The loss of Phillips is coupled with the Dodgers having four other high-leverage relievers on the IL — Brusdar Graterol, Blake Treinen, Kirby Yates and Michael Kopech, all of whom are right-handed.

The Dodgers tried to backfill some of that depth by trading for former All-Star closer Alexis Diaz on Thursday. But Diaz, who struggled so badly this season that the Cincinnati Reds optioned him to Triple-A, will initially work out of the Dodgers’ spring training complex in Glendale, Ariz.

The Dodgers also have three starting pitchers — Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki — recovering from shoulder injuries, with Shohei Ohtani not expected to join the rotation until sometime after the All-Star break.

The lineup, at least, had been healthy. Until now.

Betts, 32, got off to a slow start but was still slashing .254/.338/.405 with 8 home runs and 5 stolen bases while slotting between the hot-hitting Ohtani and Freddie Freeman in the No. 2 spot. More notably, Betts had proven to be a capable major league shortstop after working during the offseason at the position.

But the toe injury could set him back, in much the same way a broken left hand robbed him of nearly two months in 2024.

At this point, Roberts said, “I don’t see it being long term.” But the Dodgers can’t say that definitively yet.

“We need to see the doctors and kind of get a better sense of it,” Gomes said. “It happened pretty recently, so it’ll take some time before we have a better understanding.”

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