The Tampa Bay Rays are starting off their season with a four-man rotation. Would it make sense for the Phillies to do the same thing?
The Phillies have placed a priority on their bullpen this season. That became clear when they spent $34.2 million on free-agent relievers Tommy Hunter and Pat Neshek during the offseason. They are expected to carry eight relievers on the major-league roster this year, with manager Gabe Kapler leaving the possibility open for nine to be carried.
Kapler is expected to bring over the Dodgers’ mindset from last season. Their starters pitched the second-fewest innings of any playoff team last year, but that was by design. They called on their bullpen early and often, and that strategy got them to the World Series.
Philadelphia is carrying extra relievers this year because they know their rotation has its issues. Outside of Aaron Nola, every other pitcher who could potentially be in the rotation has questions surrounding them. Vince Velasquez and Nick Pivetta, two of the expected starters this year, both especially struggled to work deep into games last year.
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If the Phillies are planning on giving their bullpen a large workload, does it make sense for them to use a four-man rotation?
The Tampa Bay Rays are doing exactly that to start this season. After trading Jake Odorizzi and losing Brent Honeywell to injury, manager Kevin Cash said the team will use a four-man rotation to start the season. He went a little further Wednesday, saying it could last all season with bullpen guys filling in when needed.
The Rays are in a similar situation as Philadelphia. They have a strong No. 1 in Chris Archer, but the rest of their rotation has huge question marks. But would it work for the Phillies?
In this scenario, their rotation would likely be Nola, Velasquez, Jerad Eickhoff, and either Pivetta or Ben Lively. They would certainly carry eight relievers and nine may be necessary for them. This would boost the odds of Zac Curtis, Ricardo Pinto, Yacksel Rios, or Francisco Rodriguez making the roster.
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Kapler would be able to lean on his bullpen more heavily with more relievers on the team. At the same time, he has to balance the fact that he may need to save some of his relievers for a bullpen game. The first time the Phils would have to start a reliever is April 11, and they have an off day after that. Things start to get hairy after that as they would have to start a reliever at least once, if not twice, during various stretches of the season from that point on.
Say the club does decide that having the extra relievers is worth the occasional bullpen game, they do have options when someone needs to start.
Adam Morgan, Mark Leiter Jr., and Ricardo Pinto all have starting experience in their past. Lively and Jake Thompson could also wind up in the bullpen this year but still make spot starts need be.
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This all boils down to what suits the Phillies’ needs best. Their rotation isn’t too impressive, so using more relievers could be beneficial. However, there are certainly drawbacks that Kapler and the team need to