3 bullpen bounce-back candidates Phillies need to target in free agency

During the 2025 season, one of the Philadelphia Phillies weaknesses was their bullpen. While the outfield is getting a lot of the early offseason focus so far, the front office will need to spend some time and money this winter reinforcing the bullpen for 2026.

Despite the Phillies racking up 96 wins in the regular season, the bullpen ranked toward the bottom third of the league in numerous categories. It finished 20th with a 4.27 ERA and 2.9 fWAR. Phillies relievers combined for the third-fewest strikeouts with 505 and had the fifth-most blown saves with 27.

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and general manager Preston Mattingly will definitely want to improve on those rankings and statistics for next season.

With that in mind, there are some intriguing options on the free agent market that Philadelphia can pursue. In particular, there are three potential buy-low candidates who could have huge bounce-back years in 2026. Here are the three candidates that the Phillies should target in free agency.

3 bullpen bounce-back candidates Phillies need to target in free agency 

Michael Kopech, RHP

Michael Kopech’s 2025 campaign was marred with injuries that kept him on the sidelines for multiple months, including the postseason. When he did manage to get into some game action for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he struggled with his command. Despite compiling a decent 2.45 ERA over 14 appearances, Kopech issued 13 free passes in just 11 innings.

Kopech established himself as a premium relief arm in 2024 after joining the Dodgers at the trade deadline. In 24 appearances down the stretch that year, the right-hander posted a perfect 4-0 record with six saves, a sparkling 1.13 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP, giving up just three earned runs with 29 strikeouts in 24 innings. He averaged 98.7 mph with his four-seam fastball and played a giant role as part of the Dodgers’ bullpen during their 2024 World Series run.

If he can get past his health issues, Kopech should be able to bounce back and be one of the top bullpen arms in the league once again. The Phillies can approach him with a one-year “show-me” deal with incentives in a potential low-risk, high-reward signing this offseason.

Ryan Helsley, RHP

Ryan Helsley was actually one of the most sought-after relievers at this year's trade deadline and was a potential Phillies target. He's a former two-time All-Star and has been widely recognized as the St. Louis Cardinals’ shutdown closer over the previous few seasons. The New York Mets were the unfortunate beneficiary of the right-hander's services when they acquired him from the Cardinals at the deadline. 

For whatever reason, Helsley failed to find his footing with his new club as he struggled to an abysmal 0-3 record with four blown saves, a 7.20 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP, giving up 16 earned runs in just 20 innings over 22 relief appearances. Those were easily the worst of his seven-year MLB career.

But with a proven track record that includes a career 31-18 record with 105 saves (he led the majors with 49 saves in 2024) with a 2.96 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, the Phillies can bet on the fact that Helsley will improve and should make his short Mets tenure most likely just an outlier.

Devin Williams, RHP

Before the 2025 season, Devin Williams was among the best relievers in the majors in recent years. With a career ERA constantly below 2.50 along with a booming strikeout rate close to 40 percent, it was no wonder the New York Yankees traded for him last offseason. Perhaps playing under the big spotlight in the Big Apple had something to do with it, but Williams failed to deliver in his first and only season with the Yankees.

In 67 appearances, the 31-year-old amassed a 4-6 record with an uncharacteristic 4.79 ERA while blowing four saves. With his struggles, Williams lost his job as the closer. Nevertheless, he demonstrated that he was still a strikeout machine with 90 punchouts in just 62 innings.

More importantly, he appeared to have rediscovered his game toward the end of the season when he posted a tidy 2.50 ERA while yielding just five earned runs with six walks and 34 strikeouts in 18 innings over his final 19 games. That calming reassurance should give the Phillies enough belief that he'll be the Williams of old if they successfully recruit him.