Phillies: Five unique bullpen options for 2021
The Phillies could go in a new direction with the closer role in 2021.
The Phillies bullpen situation during the 2019 season was a bit of a jumbled mess. The team invested heavily in the position during the offseason by signing David Robertson to a $23 million contract, but he pitched just 6.2 innings before getting injured.
The Phillies then had a revolving door at the relief pitcher spot, rotating between minor league prospects and random street-level veterans. They ended the year with a collective 4.38 ERA, good for 15th in the MLB.
Entering 2020, not a whole lot has changed. The Phillies have stuck with their approach of going with “low-risk, high-reward” type players, opting to not sign anyone major during free agency. The bullpen will likely struggle again this year, even with the season being shortened.
However, with a good chunk of money projected to come off the books after 2020, the team is in a solid spot to reinvest in the position for the future.
Alex Colome
The Phillies will free up $11 million just from seeing David Roberson walk out the door in free agency, and if the team wants to simply put that money back into an established closer, look no further than Alex Colome.
Since leading the league in saves during the 2017 season (47), Colome has been one of the premier relief pitchers in the MLB. Whether it’s operating as a closer or in a mid/late inning type role, Colome has managed to keep producing at an All-Star type level.
Being utilized as the team’s primary closing pitcher during the 2019 season, Colome had an extremely impressive season with the Chicago White Sox. Across 61 innings he finished 54 games and recorded 30 saves. His WHIP was just a hair over a clean 1.000 and his ERA sat at a solid 2.80. The White Sox were pleased with his performance enough to hand over $10.53 million for him to hang around in 2020.
Colome would instantly become the Phillies number one option out of the bullpen, providing some stability to a position group that has been extremely weak the past few years. Obviously the White Sox would probably prefer to keep him around for at least another year, but if the two sides can’t agree upon a deal, the Phillies could easily swoop in and hand over $10+ million.
Phillies Prospect Adonis Medina
Currently ranked the fifth best prospect in the Phillies farm system, Adonis Medina provides an interesting option for the team when it comes to their bullpen in 2021.
Medina was added to the Phillies minor league system at the age of 17 back in 2014. Quickly, he was thought to be one of the organization’s best minor league starters. Through his first 45 starts as a member of the Phillies farm system, he kept his ERA under a 3.00. Even when playing in Williamsport and Lakewood, Medina looked like a future MLB starter.
However, despite the impressive start to his baseball career, Medina has experienced some struggles over the last two years. During his stint with Clearwater in 2018 he posted a 4.21 ERA across 21 starts, and during his first year of AA ball he posted a 4.91 ERA across 21 starts. Not exactly the type of production you want to see from a player you are labeling as a future major league starter.
While the Phillies still would prefer Medina to stay in the minors and work towards developing as a major league starter, he does in fact turn 24 years old this winter. With the Phillies possessing an extremely weak bullpen, the idea of calling up Medina as a reliever may be too good to pass on.
Medina’s best overall pitch is his 96 MPH sinking fastball. It possesses a ton of natural movement and its high velocity would translate great coming out of the bullpen late in games. Medina also throws a changeup and a slider, both showing great ability to force soft groundouts. If he were to succeed as a major league reliever, Medina would likely have to greatly improve his slider into more of a “strikeout pitch”.
Medina’s endurance would also allow him to stretch out as a “long reliever”, a position the Phillies have seriously lacked in recent years.
Ken Giles
Ever since he was traded away by the Phillies back in 2016, rumors have popped up about Ken Giles finding his way back home to the team that drafted him.
Selected by the Phillies in the seventh round of the 2011 MLB draft, Giles immediately impressed upon his debut in 2014. Possessing a fastball that routinely hit in the triple digits, Giles went on to earn the nickname “100 Miles Giles”.
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Giles won a world championship with the Houston Astros in 2017 before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. Despite having a dip in form during the 2018 season with Toronto, Giles returned to his usual self last year, ending 2019 with one of the lowest ERAs in all of baseball. Across 53 innings Giles finished 44 games, recorded 23 saves, posted a 1.000 WHIP, and had an earned run average of 1.87.
Reuniting with Giles would be a match made in heaven for the Phillies. Not only is he a player who is still universally loved by fans of the team, but he also provides the Phillies with a serious force at the back end of the bullpen. The Phillies haven’t had a closer with Giles’ type of throwing power since, well, Giles.
Coming off a monster year at just 30 years of age, Giles is likely looking to cash out when he hits the open market as a free agent in 2021. Similar to that of Alex Colome, Giles would command a salary north of $10 million. However, the Phillies could always try to get a bit of a hometown discount when it comes to landing the electric closer.
Phillies Prospect Jojo Romero
Similar to that of Adonis Medina, Jojo Romero is one of the Phillies top minor league starters who may fare better as a reliever when it comes to the MLB. Currently the 13th ranked prospect in the Phillies system at 23 years of age, the clock is ticking when it comes to deciding Romero’s future.
Romero was named the Phillies “Minor League Pitcher of the Year” back in 2017 after dazzling at the single-A level. He went 10-3 while recording 128 strikeouts and posting an ERA of 2.16. Romero’s production took a hit when he jumped from A to AA, and then they seriously dropped off during the 2019 season when he spent time in both AA and AAA.
Philadelphia Phillies
Romero utilizes five different pitches, which is one of the main reasons scouts are still relatively high on him at the moment. He throws both a four-seam and a two-seam fastball, he regularly incorporates a slider and a changeup as his primary offspeed pitches, and he tosses in a curveball at times. His control is overall below average, and he tends to rely too much on ground balls as opposed to striking batters out.
Romero is a lefty, which already gives him an extra bit of value when it comes to his future on the Phillies pitching staff. His increased endurance that he’s developed from years of starting could also play a role in his major league success as the MLB transitions into the “three batter minimum” rule.
Romero last pitched in the 2019 Arizona Fall League, and he was actually exclusively used as a relief pitcher. Across eight games and 10.2 innings he posted a 0.84 ERA, showcasing some serious potential when it comes to operating out of the bullpen.
Sean Doolittle
The current Phillies front office regime has shown they have a soft spot when it comes to aging relievers in the past, and another one may be on the market for them to overpay. After the mishaps that were Pat Neshek, Tommy Hunter, and David Robertson, you would think the Phillies would have learned their lesson when it comes to paying for older pitchers.
However, with World Series champion Sean Doolittle set to become available in 2021, they might not be able to help themselves.
For the majority of his eight year career, Doolittle was one of the best relievers/closers in baseball. Playing for both the Oakland Athletics and the Washington Nationals, Doolittle was a crucial part to every bullpen that he was a part of.
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However, after a dominant 2018 season with the Nats where he posted a 1.80 ERA and was selected to the All-Star game, Doolittle began rapidly falling off last year. Dealing with a variety of nagging injuries and just general inability to pitch on short rest, Doolittle had the worst year of his MLB career.
The Nationals opted to pay big money to relievers Daniel Hudson and Will Harris following their championship season, likely signaling the end of Doolittle’s time in Washington DC. While Doolittle is no doubt the least appealing option when it comes to this list, he does provide unique value as a potential bounce-back candidate in 2021.
After an extended offseason this year in which he can rehab and rest, he may be healthy enough to contribute for one final year during the 2021 season.