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Grading Dave Dombrowski’s First Phillies Offseason: the Bullpen

By Anthony Esbensen

May 22, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Sam Coonrod (54) gets a new baseball after allowing a home run against the Boston Red Sox during the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
May 22, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Sam Coonrod (54) gets a new baseball after allowing a home run against the Boston Red Sox during the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /
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When the Phillies hired Dave Dombrowski to be the President of Baseball Operations in December 2020, there were many questions about how Dombrowski was going to fill out the roster to finally start to turn the Phillies organization around.

Now that we are over two months into the season with over 65 games played, it’s time to evaluate the moves Dombrowski has made.

We’ve looked at the starting rotation and the bench, so it’s time to look at the bullpen.

Hector Neris, Phillies Closer

After having one of the worst bullpens of all time, Dombrowski had no choice but to revamp the entire pen. Dombrowski only kept a couple of guys, including their closer, Hector Neris.

Neris has a 3.04 ERA over 26 2/3 innings this season, a significant improvement from his 4.57 ERA over 21 2/3 innings in 2020. There might be some worries with their veteran closer lately, as he gave up three earned runs to the Yankees on June 12, but overall, he has still significantly helped the roster.

Connor Brogdon

Dombrowski also kept Connor Brogdon, a rookie righty who made his debut with the club in August of 2020.

The 26-year-old Brogdon has had an up and down season so far, posting a 4.44 ERA and a 4.46 FIP over 28 appearances. Brogdon made his debut in 2020, and appeared in nine games for the Phillies, posting a 3.97 ERA over 11 1/3 innings.

However, Brogdon’s stat line for the season can be misleading. He held opponents scoreless in his first six appearances, before giving up six earned runs on five hits to the Giants on April 20. But overall this season, 22 of his 28 appearances have been scoreless, and that six-run debacle was the only time he’s allowed more than two runs.

So far in June, Brogdon has kept opposing batters scoreless in six of seven appearances, including four scoreless appearances dating back to June 13. He’s also only walked one batter this month.

Overall, Brogdon is having a much stronger season than his stat line would indicate, far from the dreaded sophomore slump.

David Hale

Hale is a career 4.36 ERA pitcher who currently has a 5.68 ERA in 25 1/3 innings this season. Hale began the 2020 season with the Yankees, and ended it with the Phillies, posting a 4.09 ERA over 11 innings with his new team.

The former Princeton baseball star has given up at least one earned run in five of nine appearances dating back to the beginning of May. He might have written his thesis on pitching, but he’s struggling to do so in real life this season.

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