Last regular season, the Philadelphia Phillies boasted one of Major League Baseball's most ferocious bullpens. The relievers came up huge in the team's red-hot start, consistently protecting late leads and ultimately allowing the club to secure its first NL East crown since 2011.
However, all bets were off the table in the playoffs, where things can get weird. Weird like the Phillies' usually reliable bullpen arms folding in a few of their NLDS losses to their biggest rival, the New York Mets. Amid the aging roster's quest to finally win it all in 2025, the bullpen will once again need to be vital in the team's success. With many familiar faces and a few new additions, here are the rankings of the best arms in the Phillies' bullpen heading into the season.
Phillies bullpen power rankings heading into the 2025 season
No. 8: Carlos Hernández, RHP
The last spot in the Phillies' bullpen was up for grabs and dependent on the status of Ranger Suárez's back. With Rob Thomson revealing that Suárez will begin the season on the IL, Taijuan Walker is begrudgingly slotted into the team's fifth starter spot. When Suárez is fully recovered, Walker will take over a long relief role, as he's likely too expensive to cut ties with. Until then, the roster spot goes to former Kansas City Royals right-hander Carlos Hernández after being claimed off waivers by the Phillies on Sunday.
For a while, it seemed as if the last bullpen spot would be awarded to Nabil Crismatt after his stellar spring, but that wasn't the case. Then, the Phillies made a series of bullpen-related roster moves ahead of Opening Day, optioning Michael Mercado to Triple-A and designating Tyler Phillips for assignment. This caused the Phillies' front office to look externally for a reliever, and Hernández is seemingly their guy.
In a 30-inning sample size last year, Hernández pitched to a 3.30 ERA after an abysmal 5.27 ERA over 70 innings in 2023. He struggled this spring, leading the Royals to cut ties with him. However, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski sees something in the 28-year-old's 98 mph fastball that allows Hernández to take over as a long-to-middle reliever for cheap.
No. 7: Joe Ross, RHP
Joe Ross will serve as the team's long reliever, able to eat up innings in blowouts and jump into the rotation when needed. The inevitability of a six-month, 162-game MLB season is players will get hurt, especially starting pitchers. Having a strong swingman who can throw quality innings is crucial, as the Phillies saw last year with Spencer Turnbull in the first half of the season before his injury.
Ross has looked serviceable enough this spring in two starts and a few relief outings, posting a 3.12 ERA in 8 2/3 innings. As a 2019 World Series Champion with the Washington Nationals, Ross is familiar with the NL East, albeit with less-than-stellar numbers. He has a great story too, having returned to the league with Milwaukee last year after missing the entire 2022 and 2023 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery.
No. 6: Tanner Banks, LHP
Tanner Banks' outlook with the Phillies this season is as a middle relief lefty specialist. Acquired from the Chicago White Sox at last year's trade deadline, Banks' pitches can be hard for lefty hitters to pick up, and he even sports a funky look on the mound, down to his mustache and high socks.
His slider, curve and low- to mid-90s fastball serve as his best pitches, allowing him to rack up 78 strikeouts over 72 innings between the Phillies and White Sox last year. He's not bad, and could prove to be an effective lefty arm alongside José Alvarado and Matt Strahm in the bullpen. Having made his MLB debut at 30 years old in 2022, Banks is a bit on the older side and is arbitration-eligible in 2026 for what would be his age-34 season.
No. 5: José Ruiz, RHP
As we saw with Jeff Hoffman, the beauty of major league bullpens is that you never know where an under-the-radar impact reliever might be found. Signed to a minor league deal in October 2023, José Ruiz proved to be somewhat of a diamond in the rough for Rob Thomson's bullpen in 2024.
After being called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on May 3, Ruiz never went back down, recording a 3.71 ERA in 51 innings and even pitched a handful of NLDS games. Off the back of last season's performance, Ruiz was awarded a $1.23 million contract for the 2025 season to be a middle- to late-inning reliever for the Phillies. He seems to have found a home in Philadelphia after bouncing around from the White Sox to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023.
No. 4: Jordan Romano, RHP
Jordan Romano followed Dave Dombrowski's offseason strategy of banking on bounce back years from players who previously shined in big league action. Signing a one-year deal in Philadelphia, Romano was legitimately one of the better closers in baseball from 2022 to 2023. He picked up 36 saves in each season, earning him back-to-back all-star selections.
After appearing in only 15 games in 2024 due to an elbow issue, Romano hopes to reward Dombrowski's decision to sign him. He has done just that this spring, not allowing a single earned run over eight outings. The Phillies essentially traded late-inning relievers/closers with the Blue Jays after their multi-year signing of Hoffman, and Romano figures to get the majority of the Phillies' save opportunities to begin the season.
No. 3: José Alvarado, LHP
Already in year five with the team, the 2025 season is a make-or-break one for José Alvarado due to his up-and-down Phillies tenure so far. The star potential is there, for sure, and Alvarado is the single most important reliever for the team's success this season. His high-velocity cutter and sinker with the ability to hit triple digits are among the nastiest pitches in baseball to lefties and righties alike.
Of course, the biggest issue is command, which occasionally will get away from him and was the reason for his demotion to Triple-A in 2022. There were stretches in 2024 when he struggled to throw strikes with 28 walks in 61 2/3 innings, but he has been the team's most electric arm this spring with an absurd 20 strikeouts in nine innings. If on his game, Alvarado is among the most unhittable relievers in baseball and will see his fair share of save opportunities, having led the team with 13 saves in 2024.
No. 2: Orion Kerkering, RHP
Orion Kerkerking has the most potential of any player on the Phillies' active roster. On a team with many veterans over 30 years old, Kerkering is the youngest player on the roster. Entering only his age-24 season, he certainly has the makings of the team's closer of the future, similar to another homegrown talent in Ken Giles from many years ago.
Let's hope he plays in Phillies pinstripes longer than Giles, because he seriously has All-Star potential. This can be attributed to his gross pitch mix, including his high-90s fastball and frisbee-like sweeper, which is often his put-away pitch. Kerkering showed flashes of his potential in a very short sample size at the end of the 2023 season and into the playoffs and followed that up with a 2.29 ERA with 74 strikeouts and a 1.08 WHIP in 63 innings pitched in 2024. He surprisingly has never saved a game in his MLB career, but that should change in 2025.
No. 1: Matt Strahm, LHP
Strahm is a workhorse that any manager would love to have on their team. He relishes the opportunity to get the ball from manager Rob Thomson to pitch in any type of situation, be it as a middle reliever, closer, or even a starter if needed. He was an anchor for the Philly bullpen in 2024, enjoying the best success of his major league career and earning his first career All-Star nod. Appearing in a career-high 66 games, Strahm posted a 1.87 ERA and had a lengthy 21 1/3 inning scoreless streak that lasted two months from late March until late May.
After an injury scare with his left shoulder caused Strahm to miss multiple weeks of Grapefruit League action, he will be healthy for Opening Day. Strahm is unquestionably the most valuable reliever on the team, and any IL stint would be a big hit to how Thomson manages close, late-inning games. His stuff is far from overpowering, yet the intensity at which Strahm always pitches is a joy to watch. He was a bit of an unknown signing when brought on by the front office before 2023, but he has quickly become a fan favorite in Philly for good reason.
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