Phillies: Top 5 free agents to sign in 2021
By David Esser
#3. Ken Giles, RP
I mean, it’s almost criminal that Matt Klentak and the Phillies haven’t found a way to get Ken Giles back in the red and white pinstripes.
Easily considered one of the best Phillies prospects of the last decade, Giles has simply dominated the MLB since he entered in 2014. Posting a career ERA of 2.67, Giles has operated primarily as a closer in his six years of MLB service. He’s finished 204 games, earning the save in 114 of them.
Nicknamed “100 miles Giles”, the right-handed reliever utilizes a wicked fast four-seamer to overpower his opponent. After spending his first two seasons in Philly, Giles would go on to be traded to Houston where he won a World Series. Giles has now spent his last two years closing games for the Toronto Blue Jays.
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Similar to that of Ray, Giles has been a name that has long frequented the mouths of Phillies fans looking for an upgrade at the trade deadline. In fact, considering the Blue Jays current position, it’s likely Giles could still be a part of a last-second deadline day trade if there is a season this year.
The Phillies bullpen is a disaster from top to bottom. Their highest-paid reliever last season played all of seven games, and almost every single one of their younger options coming out of the pen experienced some sort of season-ending injury. By the end of the 2019 season, the Phillies were left using guys like Mike Morin and Jared Hughes late in games, that’s not great.
While the thought of handing out another lucrative deal to a veteran reliever may scare off some fans, Giles offers a different experience. Currently just 29 years old, Giles has been extremely healthy over the last few seasons. Despite regularly hitting the triple digits on the radar gun, Giles has averaged 55.1 innings pitched per year over his last three seasons.
Giles already has a ton of connections with the Phillies and he would fill a major need for the team. With David Robertson coming off the books next year too, it all just makes sense.