The Philadelphia Phillies bullpen has been a nightmare for several seasons. This past October, if you didn’t go out dressed as a Phillies reliever for Halloween, were you even really trying?
On the topic of trying, the Phillies did take the first step toward bettering their bullpen. They signed free agent Corey Knebel to a one-year deal with many expecting him to take over as the team’s closer in 2022. I’m not so sure I’m especially excited about this because Knebel hasn’t been a true closer for several seasons.
However, with this addition, the Phillies may have shown their hands. It could be a hint as to what the Phillies add next to their bullpen.
Expect the Phillies to sign at least one other former closer this winter
Knebel wasn’t the only free agent reliever with closer experience on the market. Several still remain with plenty of other non-closer options out there as well.
Of course, the Phillies aren’t stuck with the free agent crop. They could also make a trade, but with so few pieces to deal away, it makes a lot more sense for them to try to find a solution by simply paying guys money.
Building a good bullpen isn’t easy—I think that’s the official slogan of the Phillies. It’s a question the front office has failed at multiple times with some, like the David Robertson signing, failing because of an injury.
This winter, it would be nice if the Phillies go a little overboard on this mission. In free agency alone, there are a couple of guys they could turn to with closer experience to help possibly make for a competition for the ninth inning or supply an alternative to Knebel.
Brad Hand would fit well with the Phillies next season
It wasn’t long ago that Brad Hand was one of the league’s best closers. In fact, you only need to go back to the 2020 season to find him posting excellent numbers. During the pandemic-shortened campaign, Hand saved a league-best 16 games for the Cleveland Baseball Club while posting a 2.05 ERA.
This wasn’t some sort of anomaly. Since becoming a full-time reliever in 2016, Hand had been one of the best both as a closer or a regular lefty reliever facing batters from both sides of the plate.
Hand is coming off of a strange year spent with three different teams. He began the year with the Washington Nationals as their closer, saving 21 games with a 3.59 ERA. He became a trade deadline piece sent to the Toronto Blue Jays where, after 8.2 innings, he was released. His season ended with the New York Mets where he didn’t close but did have a 2.70 ERA in 13.1 innings. It was a vast improvement over the 7.27 he had in Toronto.
I can’t see why Hand wouldn’t want to try his, uh, hand, at closing again. There’s probably a bad team out there willing to give him this opportunity. I don’t want to classify the Phillies as this. They have too many good players to think of the 2022 season as one to build rather than win.
Convincing Hand to sign with the Phillies might not be easy with no guarantee to close. Fortunately, there are two other relievers for the club to look at.
Jeurys Familia was a longtime closer for the Mets and halfway decent reliever since
The best days of Jeurys Familia saving games for the Mets is well in the past. His prime years in 2015 and 2016 are a distant memory.
Somehow, Familia only managed to even stumble into a single save once over the last three seasons with the Mets after returning to them in free agency after the 2018 campaign. Those three recent years were a mix of downright terrible, okay, and promising.
Most recently, Familia had a 9-4 record out of the bullpen with the 2021 Mets team. He also posted a 3.94 ERA in 59.1 innings of work. Home runs absolutely obliterated him for the first time in his career. He gave up 10 which is incredibly odd considering he has only surrendered 35 total in his 498.2 big league innings.
For the Phillies, Familia may remind you a lot of Hector Neris. There are similarities. Each had a tendency to look like one of the best closers in the game one day and a horrific reliever the next. He was unsteady for New York these past three seasons and certainly not a great option for any team to rely on for closing duties.
One good thing to say about Familia: maybe he is willing to sign a one-year deal for cheap. On a very affordable contract that could allow the Phillies to bolster the team in other ways, he might be worth the risk.
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.
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.