The Phillies Bullpen is a Disgrace
The other week, we introduced you to the many unknown faces in the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen.
And despite the jokes and the questions of “who?” the hope was that the unknowns would eventually prove themselves to be reliable arms and not hurt this ball club.
All Phillies fans knew that was a pipe dream though.
Through the team’s first 11 games of the season, the bullpen has been a joke, an embarrassment, a disgrace.
Just take a look at this tweet from the great Jayson Stark.
Monday night, the Phillies were up 13-1 heading into the ninth. After another terrible outing by Nick Pivetta – six earned runs in 0.1 innings, with Trevor Kelley letting up a run as well – it feels like the Phillies were lucky to win the game 13-8. It got so bad that Hector Neris was forced to loosen briefly.
That night was the perfect snapshot of what the Phillies bullpen is, or in this case, isn’t. As of August 11, the Phillies had the worst bullpen ERA in the majors at 9.87. The Cincinnati Reds are the next closest at 7.77.
For comparison’s sake, the Phillies’ starters have the fifth-best ERA in the majors at 3.20. So the starters are cruising, but they can’t pitch deep into games right now due to the coronavirus layoff.
The worst bullpen in baseball then comes in and makes sure the game becomes out of reach.
What a winning formula.
That’s the Achilles’ heel for the Phillies, even with an offense that has been maddeningly inconsistent and struggling with runners in scoring position. The offense still finds ways to make it competitive and can explode. The bullpen, not so much.
The sad part is this doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone. All offseason long, we knew the Phillies needed bullpen help this season. But General Manager Matt Klentak refused to address it, even as the division rival Atlanta Braves made moves to bolster their pen with signings like Will Smith.
Klentak needs to address this glaring issue, and quickly.
The Phillies have a chance to make some noise this season, and with the expanded playoffs, a run at the World Series is not out of the question. Unless the bullpen stays as it is.
The good news is help is already on the way. Pivetta has mercifully been optioned to AAA. Hopefully there he stays. Kelley, the other goat from Monday night, was designated for assignment. In their place is Blake Parker and Connor Brogdon.
Parker had a cup of coffee with the Phillies last season. Brogdon is the name to keep an eye on. He had a 2.61 ERA in the minors last season, with 106 strikeouts and 24 walks in only 76 innings. He could instantly give life to this dead weight.
Remember to check BetQL picks ahead of every Phillies and MLB game.
Trades are also a possibility as we get closer to the August 31st trade deadline. It would be great to see the Phillies trade Jean Segura for some bullpen help and call up Alec Bohm to play third.
The other thing they can do is shift Vince Velasquez to the bullpen, and allow Spencer Howard to be the fifth starter for the rest of the season. Howard is the future, not Velasquez. Vinny V has electric stuff, and perhaps a move to the pen could allow him to fix his issues and actually be a valuable member of this team.
Regardless, the Phillies need the bullpen to improve now. In the playoffs, that will cost them the game.
That is if the bullpen even allows them to get there in the first place.
Featured Image: Yong Kim/The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Categorized:Phillies WegENT Blog