Philadelphia Phillies midseason report card: Grading the bullpen
By David Esser
Coming off a year where the Philadelphia Phillies employed one of the worst bullpens in baseball history, many thought things had to improve moving forward simply due to the fact that many of the players who made up the 2020 Phillies ‘pen were no longer set to be on the roster moving forward.
Instead, to the dismay of Phillies fans everywhere, the team’s bullpen is once again proving to be their biggest weakness. Old and new faces alike, the Phillies have already blown 22 saves in 2021 – which is by far the most in Major League Baseball at the moment.
Time to hand out some grades for the group of underachievers.
Handing out midseason grades for the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen:
Archie Bradley: D
Dave Dombrowski’s big-time reliever acquisition this past offseason, Archie Bradley had an extremely rough start to his Philadelphia Phillies career. He missed a good chunk of time due to injury, and actually finished the month of May with an ERA north of 7.00. He’s been better as of late (his ERA is down to a 3.68), but is still allowing far too many baserunners on a regular basis.
Bradley’s current 5.80 FIP tells the story of someone who’s been extremely lucky this season, and his -0.3 fWAR is actually the lowest amongst active Phillies pitchers. Not good at all.
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Hector Neris: F
Brought back to be the Phillies closer for the fifth year, Hector Neris has quite arguably been one of the worst closing pitchers in all of baseball this season. He’s got a 4.72 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP, and is currently leading the majors in blown saves with six. A much-deserved failing grade for “Hector the Protector.”
Brandon Kintzler: F
Another one of Dombrowski’s bullpen “upgrades” this past offseason, many thought snagging former Marlins closer Brandon Kintzler on a $3 million deal was going to prove to be a steal. He was coming off a very productive season in Miami, and had a bit of a “mean streak” that the Phillies ‘pen had been lacking in previous years.
Instead, Kintzler has effectively recorded the worst first half of his MLB career. He’s currently boasting a 7.61 ERA and a 1.732 WHIP. Dreadful numbers from a veteran who was brought in to stabilize the bullpen.