Philadelphia Phillies sign son of their former Cy Young pitcher

The Philadelphia Phillies are clearly hoping for a “Like father, like son” kind of miracle with their latest signing.

It was announced Wednesday night that the Phillies have signed righty Cam Bedrosian to a minor-league deal. Bedrosian, who has eight years of major-league experience under his belt, will report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Bedrosian is the son of Steve Bedrosian, a 14-year MLB veteran and former Phillie. It was with the Phillies that Bedrosian won the 1987 NL Cy Young. That season, he posted a 2.83 ERA over 65 appearances and led all of MLB with 40 saves. He also won the now-defunct Rolaids Reliever of the Year Award. It was his only All-Star season, and he also finished 16th in NL MVP voting, behind teammates Juan Samuel (13th) and Mike Schmidt (14th).

The elder Bedrosian was later a member of the 1991 World Series champion Minnesota Twins. That was the only season he played outside of the National League. He retired after the 1995 season, with a 3.38 ERA over 732 career games.

The Phillies are hoping Cam Bedrosian can return to his early-career form.

The younger Bedrosian probably won’t produce for the Phillies the way his father did. His best season came nearly 30 years after his father’s Cy Young season; with the Angels in 2016, he posted a 1.12 ERA over 45 appearances; he struck out 51 batters and only gave up one home run all season.

Other than 2016, Bedrosian’s seven seasons in Anaheim were largely… average. His time there amounted to a 3.70 ERA over 277 2/3 innings. The main Phillies relievers who have appeared in at least 20 games this season – Neris, Brogdon, Alvarado, Coonrod, Bradley, Kintzler –  all have ERAs over 4.05. In short: an average Joe would be great for the Phillies, who have one of the worst bullpens in baseball.

Bedrosian has appeared in 15 games at the major-league level this season between the Cincinnati Reds and Oakland A’s, posting a 5.52 ERA over 14 2/3 innings. His nine games with the A’s is a small sample size, but his pitching was much better than it had been with the Reds; his ERA went from 11.12 to 2.00. Nevertheless, the A’s designated him for assignment at the beginning of July, and he elected free agency after clearing waivers for the second time this season.

The newest Phillie will have something in common with his new teammates; he and Bryce Harper were both drafted in the first round of the 2010 MLB Draft. Of course, Harper was the first overall pick, and Bedrosian was 29th.

Philadelphia also has a few minor league arms that could make their debuts later this season, including some of that UDFAs from 2020, but the 29-year-old Bedrosian is a low-cost option with major-league experience and the potential for legitimate upside.

With their bullpen currently leading MLB with 22 saves, and ranked 25th in ERA, it feels like the Phillies will try anything at this point. But compared to what they currently have, Bedrosian feels like a good bet.

Update: the Philadelphia Phillies have selected the contract of Cam Bedrosian, son of their former Cy Young pitcher Steve Bedrosian