The Philadelphia Phillies are prioritizing to fill their catcher, shortstop, and bullpen voids first this offseason, but that apparently will not preclude them from looking to add starting pitching depth.
After missing out on signing Jose Urena last month, the Phillies reportedly have their sights set on two other veteran right-handers. According to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury, the club was “one of several” to scout Anibal Sanchez and Julio Teheran during a Miami-area workout on Tuesday.
Salisbury’s report comes just a day after Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters that, ideally, they would like to add some starting pitching depth: “Sometimes they are non-roster invitees that can come in and pitch,” he said. “But, I think that where we are, we have some young arms that we really like. I’m not sure how close they are to contributing right now. I think from an ideal perspective, it’s something we’re at least looking to see if we can find.”
Anibal Sanchez and Julio Teheran have a combined 25 years of MLB experience.
Sanchez, who will turn 37 next month, has pitched 15 seasons in the majors. This past season, he made 11 starts for the Washington Nationals, allowing a National League-most 39 earned runs over 53 innings en route to a 6.62 ERA. A year prior, the Venezuela native helped the Nationals to a World Series championship, including tossing 7 2/3 shutout innings in an NLCS start opposite the St. Louis Cardinals.
Teheran, who will turn 30 later this month, is a two-time All-Star and 10-year veteran, having first debuted with the Atlanta Braves in 2010. The right-hander is an even 77-77 for his career with a 3.81 ERA, 1.223 WHIP, and 1,204-474 strikeouts-to-walks ratio spanning 1,391 1/3 innings. His only season not with the Braves was in 2020, when he went a disappointing 0-4 with a 10.05 ERA through 10 appearances and nine starts with the Los Angeles Angels.