Phillies rumor: Club eyeing Red Sox closer Brandon Workman

The Phillies could be looking to acquire a second bullpen arm from the American League East, Red Sox RHP Brandon Workman

The Philadelphia Phillies have already made two trades with two different American League East teams this week — the first being RHP Edgar Garcia to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later, and the second being RHP Addison Russ to the New York Yankees for fellow right-handed reliever David Hale.

Now, a third Phillies trade with the division could be in the works. According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the team has spoken with the Boston Red Sox about right-handed closer Brandon Workman. According to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury, “multiple players” are involved in the proposed deal.

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Workman, 32, has pitched in all of his six seasons in a Boston Red Sox uniform since his 2013 debut. The Phillies originally drafted the Arlington, Texas, native in the third round of the 2007 draft out of Bowie High School, however he did not sign. Three years later, the Red Sox drafted him in the second round out of the University of Texas at Austin.

Workman’s decision paid off tremendously, as 13 years later after being drafted by the Phillies, he can call himself a two-time World Series champion. During the 2013 Fall Classic against the St. Louis Cardinals, teammates with former Phillies champion Shane Victorino, Workman tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings.

The right-hander was left off of the 2018 Red Sox World Series roster opposite the Los Angeles Dodgers, as he recorded a 13.50 ERA in that year’s NLDS against the New York Yankees, and an 108.00 ERA in the NLCS against the Houston Astros.

Since then, Workman has gone 10-1 with a 2.07 ERA across 80 appearances. Overall in his career, he is 24-16 with a 3.75 ERA spanning 195 appearances, 18 of which started a game during his first two seasons in a Red Sox uniform (2013-14).

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Workman earned the American League Reliever of the Month honors last September, a season in which he overall appeared in the fourth-most games in the league (73), all the while recording 16 saves.

So far in 2020, Workman has allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings; none scored via a home run. His four saves rank as the 10th-most in the American League, while his six games finished rank as the ninth-most.

Workman recorded a save opposite the Phillies on Wednesday, retiring all three batters faced with one strikeout in the 6-3 Red Sox win.