Phillies: Low Cost Relief Pitching Options in Free Agency

Why Do The Phillies Need Bullpen Help?

The team’s bullpen was downright awful last season. Of the 19 relievers to pitch for the Phils last year, only Hector Neris pitched a full season with a reasonable ERA.

David Hernandez was serviceable (3.84 ERA in 72.2 IP), as was Edubray Ramos (3.83 ERA, 40.0 IP), but that was it. Even when including the efforts of the three aforementioned relievers, the team’s bullpen collectively owned an ERA of 5.05, while allowing a .271 batting average to opposing hitters.

Both of those marks placed 28th in all of baseball. It’s no secret that last year’s crop of veteran relievers didn’t pan out. So now it’s time to try a new crop.

Gary Brinson talked about Mark Rzepczynski and Brian Matusz last week, and today I’ll be looking at a few more low-cost, free agent relief pitchers:

Honorable Mentions

Fallen closers and former-bullpen studs will make up the majority of this list. More effective relievers such as Trevor Cahill, Joaquin Benoit, and Sergio Romo are of incredibly high value in the market right now, and will not fit in the price range of the very-much-rebuilding Phillies.

Instead, the Phightins are more likely to target injured and/or veteran relievers looking for an opportunity to rebuild their value. This Phillies regime has a history of that with James Russell and Edward Mujica being stashed in Lehigh Valley.

Luke Hochevar, Joe Smith, and Fernando Salas are all viable bounce-back candidates that the Phillies front office will most likely be taking a look at this offseason.

Fernando Rodney, Miami Marlins

This guy is the prime example of a roller-coaster reliever. Despite having decent overall numbers for the year – 3.44 ERA, 25 saves, 74 K in 65.1 IP – Rodney’s second half performance would imply that he is damaged goods.

After starting the season with a 0.31 ERA over 28.1 innings for the Padres, the Marlins decided to acquire him. Having previously set the single-season record for lowest Earned Run Average (0.60) in 2012 with the Rays, Rodney seemed to have found his form once again. However, this was not the case.

From the day he touched down in Miami, Rodney lost his edge on the mound. He pitched to a 5.89 ERA during his time with the Marlins, which explains why he’s a low-cost option.

He signed an incentive-laden contract last season (with a base salary of $1.6 million), and the Phillies would be wise to offer him something similar.

Estimated Offer – 1 year/$3 million (plus incentives)

Brett Cecil, Toronto Blue Jays

This guy picked the wrong time to sink back to mediocrity. Brett Cecil went three straight seasons (2013-2015) posting an ERA below 3.00, then took a step back this year.

That number jumped to 3.93 in 2016, while he also recorded four blown saves and seven losses. My hunch is that the majority of the lefty’s struggles can be attributed to the two injuries he sustained. One of those was a tricep strain to his pitching arm in May, followed by a torn calf muscle in October

While the injuries are certainly a red flag, Cecil’s peripheral numbers actually looked very good, as he set a career high in K/BB ratio of 5.63 and struck out an average of 11.05 batters per nine innings (K/9).

Following the mid-season trade of Brett Oberholtzer, Elvis Araujo is the only southpaw in the Phils’ bullpen right now. If Cecil can return to form, the team’s bullpen will be vastly improved. Plus, the front office will have another valuable bargaining chip.  

Estimated Offer – 2 years/$12 million

J.P. Howell, Los Angeles Dodgers

Sticking with the theme of “lefties that can help the Phillies,” let’s take a look at J.P. Howell. While he’s no workhorse, Howell has been one of the most effective lefties in the game since 2013. Before this year’s hiccup, which saw his ERA rise to 4.09, Howell was on an absolute tear in Los Angeles. In fact, he recorded an earned run mark of 1.43 in 2015.

I suspect Howell’s struggles can be tied to the effectiveness of his Knuckle-Curve. His velocity of that pitch has gone down, but he’s throwing it way more frequently. Not only did he throw 62% more Knuckle-Curves in 2016 than the year prior, but opposing hitters managed to hit .271 against it, compared to .211 in 2015.

If he throws less of that Knuckle Curve, or at least chooses better times to throw it, Howell could once again be an effective left-handed reliever. If that happens, he’ll almost surely be a blue-chip at the trade deadline.

Estimated Offer – 1 year/$7 million (with 2018 club option)