Connor Phillips: Everything you need to know

Phillips was pressed into action Thursday against the Cubs after Rhett Lowder (shoulder) left in the fourth inning, and proceeded to allow five runs on four hits and a walk in one inning. It's tempting to give Phillips a little bit of grace given the circumstances of his entry into the game, and because of a mental mistake made by catcher Tyler Stephenson. But this isn't his first recent disaster outing, including one last weekend where he walked all four batters that he faced. For the season he has 21 walks allowed in 20 innings, and thus can't be a serious candidate for saves for the Reds even with Emilio Pagan (hamstring) out.

Phillips earned the save Monday against the Pirates, walking two in a hitless and scoreless ninth inning. He struck out one. Closer Emilio Pagan was likely unavailable after working each of the past two days for Cincinnati, opening the door for Phillips to claim his first save opportunity of the year. Monday marked Phillips' first career major-league save, though the right-hander doesn't figure to see very much ninth-inning work in 2026 when Pagan or other Reds high-leverage arms are available.

Phillips threw two scoreless innings against the Red Sox in extra innings Saturday, picking up the win when the Reds walked it off in the 11th inning. He struck out three without allowing a hit or a walk. Phillips played an increasingly important role in the Reds bullpen when they pushed to win a Wild Card spot last season. He's unlikely to displace Emilio Pagan, Tony Santillan or even Graham Ashcraft in the bullpen pecking order for the Reds, but he could serve as a nice pivot whenever one or more of them is unavailable.