10 free agents the Philadelphia Phillies should still be interested in
By David Esser
Andrew Chafin, RP
Another “bounce-back” candidate worth looking into, Andrew Chafin provides the Philadelphia Phillies with another reliable lefty at the back of their bullpen. They already acquired one left-hander in Jose Alvarado, but more work needs to be done in that department. The Phillies literally had one of the worst bullpens in baseball history last year, they need to add multiple relievers to their roster.
Prior to 2020, Chafin had been a solid relief option for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He had an ERA in the mid 3.00s between 2017 and 2019, and was good for about 50 innings of work a year.
Chafin struggled big time to kick off his 2020 campaign, stumbling out of the gate with an 8.20 ERA in his first 11 outings. However, following a trade to the Cubs at the deadline, the lefty was able to re-find his previous form. He gave up just one run in three innings of work for Chicago, and even made a scoreless postseason appearance for them as well (0.1 innings).
Chafin’s Chicago stint isn’t a large enough sample size to say that he’s completely “back”, but it’s probably safe to say that the entire 2020 season was a fluke for the lefty. He’ll likely settle back into that 3.75 ERA range in 2021, and that’s a bet that the Phillies should be more than happy to take all things considered.