That Balls Outta Here
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Phillies: Three free agent pitchers they can sign at a discount

By Matthew Landmesser

ATLANTA, GA - MAY 31: Arodys Vizcaino #38 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at SunTrust Park on May 31, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - MAY 31: Arodys Vizcaino #38 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at SunTrust Park on May 31, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images) /
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PHOENIX, ARIZONA – JULY 19: Jhoulys Chacin #45 of the Milwaukee Brewers delivers a pitch in the first inning of the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on July 19, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks won 10-7. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – JULY 19: Jhoulys Chacin #45 of the Milwaukee Brewers delivers a pitch in the first inning of the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on July 19, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks won 10-7. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

Jhoulys Chacín (32, SP)

2018 was only two season ago, yet Jhoulys Chacín has fallen from the head of the Brewers staff to his worst season as a professional split between Milwaukee and Boston. Chacín  has never been an overwhelming stuff guy, and won’t strike out a ton of hitters.

The part of Chacín’s game that would be of great benefit to the Phillies is his ability to keep the ball in the ballpark. Over his career, Chacín has a HR/9 of 1.0, so he only gives up one home run per every nine innings. The Phillies last year averaged a HR/9 of 1.7, with Aaron Nola and Jason Vargas having the only rate under 1.3. Chacín dealt with injury for about half of 2019, which saw his numbers take a turn in the wrong direction.

However, looking at the rest of his career, Chacín has a home run-to-fly ball% of 9.8%. The Phillies starters averaged 17.8% HR/FB%, which tied the Yankees for the 3rd-worst mark in the majors.

A veteran presence, and a previous ace, could add some confidence to the back-end of the rotation, elongate the rotation to 6 men, or even allow guys like Vinny Velasquez and Zach Eflin to work out of the bullpen if needed.

However, Chacín could also turn out to be like Jake Arrieta, who has underwhelmed in his role as the veteran backbone. Chacín would be a much cheaper version of Arrieta, and hopefully would keep the Phillies in more games by not giving up the long ball as frequently.

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