Philadelphia Phillies: 3 veteran closers the team could still sign in free agency

Sean Doolittle

2020 Team: Washington Nationals

2020 Salary: $6.5 million

Switching gears over to another NL East rival, 2019 World Series champion Sean Doolittle falls a bit more into the “bounce-back” category, while still fitting the “proven veteran” description.

Acquired by the Nats back in 2017, Doolittle established himself as one of the best left-handed relievers in all of baseball during the 2018 season. He finished 35 games with a 1.60 ERA, seeing himself named to the All-Star game for the second time in his career.

Doolittle actually had a bit of a down year in 2019 when the Nats won the World Series, recording a 4.05 ERA which eventually led to him losing the primary closer job in the postseason. He did lead the National League in games finished (55) during the regular season, however.

Doolittle’s 2020 campaign was particularly rough, as his ERA skyrocketed up to a 5.87. He battled all sorts of injury/fatigue issues, which will likely lead to a smaller contract here in free agency.

Doolittle hasn’t been great recently, and he too is starting to creep up there in age (34 years). However, similar to the two before mentioned candidates, he’s a proven veteran who has pitched at the highest levels of competition. Dombrowski tends to favor these types of players, making Doolittle a name worth mentioning on a list like this.

Doolittle would also likely come at an extremely cheap cost due to his rough 2020 campaign, which helps out the Philadelphia Phillies perceived desire to shed salary.

There’s no guarantee that the Phillies will even sign a closer in free agency, but if they do, my guess is that Dombrowski targets a name that’s well-known around the league. That’s always been his approach to building up bullpens – and I doubt that’s changed anytime recently.