Expect the Philadelphia Phillies to add these relievers to the bullpen
By Tim Boyle
Richard Rodriguez wouldn’t bring the Phillies much closing experience and that’s not so bad
Finally, there’s Richard Rodriguez. He spent most of his five seasons in the big leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Last year, he ended up traded to the Atlanta Braves which was certainly a nice change of pace after several years in Pittsburgh.
Prior to the deal, Rodriguez was getting regular saves for the Pirates. He would log 14 of them while posting a 2.82 ERA. Combined with his Atlanta numbers, he concluded the year with a 5-4 record, 2.94 ERA, and 64.1 innings of work.
Rodriguez has now quietly had several good years out of the bullpen. Only a free agent because the Braves non-tendered him, he’d be an awesome pickup for the Phillies.
With only 19 saves in his career, Rodriguez is much less likely to challenge anyone for ninth inning opportunities. That’s not much of a problem. In the end, you only want one closer. Having a guy like Rodriguez to secure innings seven or eight is important in a different way.
Rodriguez also wouldn’t take any convincing to join the Phillies because of a desire to pitch the ninth. He’s someone the Phillies could use as an emergency option in the ninth with zero promises to ever so much as pick up a save opportunity for them.
Next. 3 major needs for the Phillies to address. dark
Free agency offers the Phillies plenty of directions they can go with revamping their bullpen. If the Knebel signing is any indication of what they have planned, another guy with even a little bit of closer experience should be on the radar.