The Philadelphia Phillies have made some smart moves so far this offseason, bringing back slugger Kyle Schwarber on a five-year contract and trading for promising young pitching prospect Yoniel Curet from the Tampa Bay Rays. However, a recent minor-league move may feel like they’re barking up the wrong tree more than anything else.
On Thursday, the Phillies signed well-travelled journeyman Trevor Richards to a minor league contract. Richards, a right-hander, is expected to provide valuable bullpen depth for the organization despite his recent shortcomings.
Don’t expect much from Phillies’ Trevor Richards minor-league signing
The 32-year-old reliever has spent eight years in the major leagues in which he has been part of eight different MLB organizations in the process. That has included stops with the Rays, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, and Kansas City Royals.
Richards’ best season came in 2021 when he compiled a solid 7-2 record with a 3.50 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, with 78 strikeouts in 64 1/3 innings pitched over 53 relief appearances split between the Rays, Brewers and Blue Jays. However, he has struggled to maintain consistency in subsequent seasons, leading to his frequent movement between teams that were still willing to give him a chance, but ultimately failing as a result.
Last year, Richards spent the majority of his time in the minors split between the Diamondbacks, Cubs and Royals. In 38 games, he compiled a less-than-stellar 5.19 ERA and 1.40 WHIP, giving up 30 earned runs with 19 walks and 55 strikeouts in 52 innings. Richards did manage to get into five games at the major league level, but posted a dismal 7.94 ERA and 2.29 WHIP in his rare opportunity to prove himself.
Perhaps the Phillies believe that he can somehow recapture some of his main strength, which is his strikeout ability. After all, in his eight career seasons in the majors, Richards has struck out 616 batters in 565 2/3 innings, resulting in a solid 25.3 percent career strikeout rate to put him slightly above the major league average of 22.7 percent.
Philadelphia could definitely use some of that flamethrowing heat in their relief corps after finishing third last in the entire league with 505 bullpen strikeouts in 2025.
Nevertheless, with a fastball that has seen its average velocity dip in each of the past three seasons from 93.4 mph down to 91.4 mph, Richards will need to inspire some confidence and show that he can still get major league players out to become a part of the Phillies’ future plans.