To not have the worst bullpen in the league!
Despite Matt Klentak’s beliefs, building a bullpen in the MLB is just really not that hard. Get some guys who are healthy and throw hard, and then let the manager decide when is the best time to use each of them. Throw in a dude with some elite spin rate here or there, and before you know it you have an above average bullpen in the MLB!
In 2020, Klentak and company went against the grain in almost every aspect of bullpen building, repeatedly relying on aging veterans with little to no velocity. Guys like Brandon Workman, Heath Hembree, and David Phelps all threw in the low 90s, and all contributed to what ended up being the second worst bullpen in baseball history.
In 2021, it’d be cool if the Phillies didn’t do that!
Dave Dombrowski has already made a decent first step towards building a MLB caliber bullpen – acquiring flame-throwing lefty Jose Alvarado in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. Bringing more high velocity arms like this should be the continued strategy moving forwards for the Phils, and should in theory result in a decent enough 2021 ‘pen.
I’m not asking for an elite bullpen this year, I just want one that doesn’t self implode every single evening.