Philadelphia Phillies trade for hard-throwing reliever Sam Coonrod
The Philadelphia Phillies have made another trade for a hard-throwing reliever.
It’s clear what Philadelphia Phillies‘ new President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski wants to fix the bullpen: hard-throwing relievers.
Philadelphia added its second major league reliever this offseason by trading for San Francisco Giants right-hander Sam Coonrod. In exchange, the Phillies sent 2020 fourth-round pick Carson Ragsdale to the Bay Area.
A quick look at the back of a Coonrod baseball card won’t impress you with a glaring 5.74 ERA in 51 career appearances for the Giants. He averages only two more strikeouts than walks per nine innings and has given up only six fewer hits than innings pitched in his career.
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Looking at Fangraphs, Coonrod’s velocity definitely stands out in a positive way. His fastball averages 97.1 MPH and his slider is just as hard at 97.6 MHP. He also tosses in a changeup in the high 80s and a curveball around 85 MPH.
His numbers as a rookie in 2019 were much better with a 3.58 ERA, 80% left-on-base percentage, and a 50% groundball rate.
Coonrod also picked up attention for not kneeling with the rest of his team during the National Anthem over the summer as part of a “moment of unity” and citing his Christian religion.
The addition of Coonrod follows the trade for José Alvarado, one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in baseball. Philadelphia’s bullpen has lacked power arms in recent years and is coming off one of the worst seasons in baseball history. While Coonrod is not a splashy name, the team sees upside in that velocity and gives up a recent draft pick who missed the entire 2020 season due to the pandemic.
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Coonrod isn’t the answer for Philadelphia bullpen questions, but he should be a candidate to make the bullpen in spring training with the option to go back to Lehigh Valley or the minor league site, depending on how baseball structures the minor league system in 2021.