The Phillies failure to add a closer this past offseason is haunting them

Despite the walk-off win last night, the Philadelphia Phillies experienced another mind-numbingly painful collapse by way of yet another blown save. The Phillies blown save total is now up to 22, just three shy of the franchise’s all-time record for blown saves in a single season. The Phillies have also blown eight saves over the course of their past nine games, which is a first in team history.

Needless to say, the bullpen ain’t very good!

While the overall depth of the ‘pen is equally to blame for the group’s inability to hold leads, and manager Joe Girardi hasn’t done a particularly good job of managing the few decent arms that he does have at his disposal, the biggest issue in regards to the Phillies’ relief woes lies in their lack of a true closer. The organization once again put an unwarranted amount of faith into Hector Neris‘ ability to be the closer over the course of an entire season, a faith that immediately backfired following Neris’ sixth blown save of the season no more than a week ago.

Jose Alvarado is the latest bullpen member to receive closing duties, but his wild demeanor on the mound and overall lack of pitch command has done more harm than good. While his velocity and “stuff” is amongst the league’s best, his 7.8 BB/9 rate is amongst the league’s worst.

Archie Bradley, who was signed to a one-year/$6 million contract this past offseason, is another potential closer candidate. However, his numbers haven’t looked all that great this year either. Bradley’s current 1.722 WHIP is by far a career-worst, and he too has been walking batters at an alarmingly high rate (6.0 BB/9).

While I definitely wouldn’t rule out Dave Dombrowski acquiring a new closer via the trade market over the next couple of weeks, I think it’s pretty safe to say that the future Hall of Fame executive is regretting his decision to not add a more reliable closer this past offseason.

The Phillies decision to not sign a high-profile closer this past offseason has come back to bite them in a big way.

The frustrating part is that there was an abundance of closers to choose from in free agency, at fairly reasonable prices. Mark Melancon, who currently leads all of baseball with 25 saves, was picked up by the San Diego Padres for just $3 million – the same amount that the Phillies are currently paying Brandon Kintzler.

Ian Kennedy, who made the Texas Rangers roster as a minor league invitee, currently possess a sub-3.00 ERA and is 14/15 in save opportunities. Brad Hand was eventually signed by the Nationals for just north of $10 million, but the lefty closer was available on waivers for quite some time. Hand boasts a 2.60 ERA, and is 14/16 in save opportunities.

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Aaron Loup hasn’t been closing games for the Mets this season, but he still has a 1.52 ERA through 27 appearances. Loup signed for just $3 million.

White Sox closer Liam Hendriks got paid a whopping $54 million over three years this past offseason, but thus far, the investment has proven to be worthwhile one. Hendriks currently has a 2.57 ERA, and is leading the American League in both games finished (33) and total saves (21).

For what it’s worth, Dombrowski was put in a tricky position where the interim GM before him (Ned Rice) had already committed money to Hector Neris. The longtime Phillies closer was on the team’s payroll for 2021, so it made some sense to roll with him as the closer for one final year. However, that doesn’t excuse Dombrowski’s following moves. Dombrowski forked out $16 million to the likes of Bradley, Kintzler, Chase Anderson, and Matt Moore.

There were funds in place that could’ve fixed the closer position, Dombrowski and the Phillies just spent it on the wrong players.

light. Related Story. Philadelphia Phillies: Top 5 players who could get dealt at the deadline

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