Signing Drew Smyly to boost rotation worth the risk for Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies agreed to a deal with Drew Smyly on Friday to provide another pitcher to the rotation.

No one needs to explain to Philadelphia Phillies fans just how frustrating the pitching has been for this team over the last couple of months, and it will be even more disappointing if the team ends up falling short of a playoff berth.

While expectations were rightfully high for the Phillies to be a legitimate World Series contender in the National League, it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing, as the team currently sits in third place heading into their weekend series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Obviously, Philadelphia still has plenty of time to turn things around before it’s too late, but also if that’s going to have any chance of happening, the pitching needs to get better as soon as possible.

From certain pitchers such as Vince Velasquez and Nick Pivetta struggling to be consistent to the bullpen constantly looking like one of the most unreliable groups in the league, pitching has looked like an absolute disaster at times for the Phillies this season.

With that being said, there had been some previous chatter as of late over the possibility of Philadelphia bringing on veteran Drew Smyly to provide another key pitcher to work with in the rotation.

On Friday, the deal became official with Smyly, which will hopefully help the Phillies in a big way in regards to their rotation.

Some will question the decision by Philadelphia to bring on a player like Smyly who previously struggled with the Texas Rangers (1-5 this season with an 8.42 ERA) before his release, but also the case can be made he deserves some slack for coming off Tommy John surgery.

By earning a fresh start on a team in desperate need of help at pitching like the Phillies, Smyly will hopefully figure out a way to play at a high enough level to put the rotation in better position to compete for a playoff spot in the National League.

At this point, Philadelphia is one of those teams with nothing to lose when it comes to their starting pitching rotation, especially with Jake Arrieta dealing with a bone spur in his elbow.

So while the addition of Smyly may not seem like that big of a deal on paper, here’s to hoping the signing works out for the best in Philadelphia since the season will nearing an end before the Phillies know it.