Philly Front Office

The Phillies bullpen stinks. There’s no sugar coating it. Orion Kerkering is not a high leverage guy at this point and Jordan Romano has been baffling so far (in a bad way). We needed someone before coming to those realizations. It’s Alvarado, Strahm, and hope the starter went 7. That’s not good.

Who can we get? First, is there anyone internally the Phillies could use? We are going to find out. With Ranger Suarez coming back this weekend, the team either needs to move Taijuan Walker to the bullpen or go to a 6 man rotation. That doesn’t exactly help the relief problem though. Andrew Painter is coming this summer. Would they move him to the pen? Probably not until the playoffs because they want him to develop and get innings as a starter. Well that’s something at least. It doesn’t help us for the season though. Then there’s recently acquired Daniel Robert from the Rangers. He is 30 but has limited experience and was just DFA’d. So, while there’s the possibility of eventual bullpen help, there’s nobody right now.

Next, we need to look at the bad teams out there. Bad teams with good relievers should be putting out sexy pics of their pitchers everyday trying to get the Phillies attention. Let’s look at the 8 teams already at least beginning to contemplate next year and who they have to offer.

• Rockies
  • Jacob Bird (R) – Bird has been a workhorse so far for the Rockies (19 innings), but incredibly effective; especially considering how bad the team is. His 0.95 ERA is crazy period, but considering Coors Field it is especially good. He is 29 but still shockingly pre-arb. The Rockies need to sell him before any shine wears off. This season is by far his best so far in the majors.
  • Jimmy Herget (R) – In 11 outings this year, Herget has only given up 2 homers and they were in the same game. It’s probably because he simply doesn’t throw very hard. He feels like a stats are better than reality guy, but he could probably be had on the cheap
• White Sox
  • Mike Vasil (R) – So far Vasil has been the long guy out of the White Sox pen but might be in for higher leverage chances since he simply isn’t giving up runs. In 16.1 innings, he’s only given up legitimate runs once (a 2 run homer in a 3 inning outing). He is still only a rookie and a Rule 5 guy at that despite being 25 (ironically taken by the Phillies initially in the Rule 5). Even as a rookie, you have to think anyone on the White Sox is available.
• Pirates
  • Dennis Santana (R) – Like the other guys on this list, Santana is having a pretty out of nowhere career renaissance with the Pirates. While the others have elite weak contact rates, Sanatan is getting by with a 41.3 chase percentage, one of the best in baseball. He has one more year of team control after this one.
  • Justin Lawrence (R) – After a pretty terrible 2024, Lawrence was mowing guys down this season. He has a .79 ERA in 12 innings and a sub-zero WHIP. Unfortunately, he is currently on the IL with elbow inflammation. So, we will either see him in June or late in 2026.
  • Caleb Ferguson (L) – Ferguson was solid in limited action with the Astros last season, but has been outright dominant so far in 2025. He doesn’t strike out many, but he simply doesn’t allow hard contact, ranking in the 99th percentile in allowed exit velocity. He is under contract this season for $3m.
  • Chase Shugart (R) – Shugart is a 28 year old rookie who couldn’t ask for a better start to his career by giving up 2 runs in 10 games (only 1 HR in 12.2 innings). He is another guy who just doesn’t give up hard contact. It will probably be a lot easier to get any of the other 3 than Shugart due to his maximum team control remaining.
• Marlins
  • Lake Bachar (R) – I don’t know if we are allowed to have another guy with ratty long hair on this team, but I say the more the merrier. It is only his second season, but he is breaking out with elite movement on his pitches. Outside of a 2 run homer on opening day and his last game against the Dodgers, Bachar had gone 14 scoreless innings.
  • Anthony Bender (R) – Bender has been a pretty solid reliever since entering the league. Since this is his 4th season, it is now time for the Marlins to trade him. That’s just the way it is. He is still pumping upper 90s heat and mixes a solid sweeper and slider.
• Angels
  • Kenley Jansen (R) – The ageless wonder hasn’t given up a run yet this season in 8 innings, racking up 6 saves. He’s just still really good. He is making $10m though. That could be prohibitive for a tax-cautious team like the Phillies.
• Nationals
  • Kyle Finnegan (R) – I know what you’re thinking, if he’s on the Phillies, then how are we supposed to beat the Nationals? He was doing great this season until his last outing against the Phillies. He throws hard, has closer experience, and is a free agent next year. His $6m salary may be prohibitive though.
  • Jackson Rutledge (R) – I don’t think the Nationals would move him considering he’ still has 3 more years of control, he still hasn’t picked up a full year of service time, but he has been pretty nasty so far this season. Just keep him in mind when we play them again.
• Twins
  • Jhoan Duran (R) – He pumps 100+mph every time out there and has an elite groundball rate. I have to imagine he is going to be in high demand come the deadline and with only 2 years ofc control left, the Twins are going to be looking to move him.
  • Danny Coulombe (L) – the journeyman is now 35, but still getting outs. He has been solid for years now thanks to great movement on his slow ass pitches. It works. He is only signed this year for $3m.
  • Griffin Jax (R) – He doesn’t have as much velocity as Duran, but its close and he gets similarly excellent chase and whiff rates. the problem is that when it gets hit, it gets hit. His 7.50 ERA is very inflated thanks to back to back blow ups against the Mets and Braves, but that helps when trying to pry him away. He is 30 but has 1 year of control left. They are going to move him if they keep losing.
• Cardinals
  • Steven Matz (L) – Yes, that Steven Matz who we crushed out of NY all those years ago. He has reinvented himself as a specialist out of the bullpen with occasional starts. It’s working considering he sports a miniscule 1.50 ERA right now. I’m not going to lie, I don’t trust him one bit, but you have to imagine the Phillies are looking since everyone knows the Cardinals are selling.
  • Ryan Helsley (R) – He is probably the prize of the trade deadline in terms of relievers, but he is having a surprisingly down season. Except his velocity, all of his advanced stats are down, his strikeouts are down and his walks are up. I am dubious of the Phillies interest because of the $8.2m price tag.
  • Kyle Leahy (R) – Leahy is almost 28, but is still considered a rookie. Quite simply, he’s crushing it with only 5 hits and 5 walks in 18 innings. So far he is a statcast darling. Considering the full control, don’t get your hopes up. He’s mostly on the list because he is guaranteed to haunt our nightmares at some point in the next few years.

The trade deadline isn’t until the end of July, but the Phillies need help ASAP.