The scariest question facing each Philadelphia sports team

How are they going to fix the pitching?

The Philadelphia Phillies introduced their new manager, Joe Girardi, this week. That was great. He seems like the best choice to lead the team right now. But when it comes to actual personnel, the team is still lacking.

And it starts with the pitching.

Behind Aaron Nola and a few seemingly reliable bullpen arms, the Phillies don’t possess anyone who seems like a sure bet to deliver a solid and reliable performance on a consistent basis. And that’s downright scary.

The Jake Arrieta experiment has failed. I thought that signing him was a necessary overpay on the Phillies’ part, but it has turned out to be a huge waste of money. Most likely, the best they can hope for at this point is to get #4 starter-type production out of him during the 2020 season. But that still leaves huge holes in the rotation that the likes of Nick Pivetta, Vince Velasquez, and Zach Eflin just aren’t good enough to fill.

Does this mean that the Phillies should go crazy and back up the Brinks truck for Gerrit Cole? Yes, they should, but they’d probably lose a bidding war to the New York Yankees anyway.

Or maybe they should take a long, hard look at their old buddy Cole Hamels. Or kick the tires on Dallas Keuchel after showing zero interest earlier this year. There will also be some decent mid-tier options available, such as Jake Odorizzi.

No matter what, this team needs to do something to stabilize a rotation that featured too many embarrassingly short outings last year. Things wouldn’t be as dire if there were some hot prospects knocking down the door for a spot on the club, but the cupboard is pretty bare there as well. Immediate action is needed.

If this team truly wants to break out of their extended period of mediocrity, more investment must be made in the pitching staff. And while we’re at it, let’s stop bringing in relief pitchers over 30 with a ton of miles on them. The Phillies must make shrewd signings when it comes to middle relief this offseason, lest it blow up in their faces again.

Finding the right balance between experience, upside and cost-effectiveness can be tricky, but it’s something the franchise needs to get way better at if the Phillies are going to have a chance.