The Philadelphia Phillies made their first, and hopefully not last, bullpen addition on Sunday by signing veteran reliever David Robertson for the rest of the season. Robertson is making his third stint with the Phillies and will begin a ramp-up period in Triple-A after not pitching yet in 2025.
The Phillies’ bullpen is among the worst in the majors this year. Entering Tuesday's game against the Boston Red Sox, the Phillies’ bullpen owns the eighth-worst ERA (4.27) and opposing offenses have the ninth-highest batting average (.247) against the group.
Orion Kerkering has been the Phillies’ best bullpen arm this year and is the only reliever with a sub-3.00 ERA, other than the suspended José Alvarado, among pitchers with a large enough sample size. Robertson should improve the Phillies’ bullpen whenever he’s ready to join the big league club, but the team needs more help.
John Middleton just dropped a hint about who could be in Phillies' playoff bullpen
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski likely isn’t finished adding to the bullpen. The July 31 trade deadline is right around the corner, and the Phillies are in the market for a late-inning, high-leverage reliever, per The Athletic’s Matt Gelb (subscription required).
Although it’s widely known around Major League Baseball that the Phillies are pursuing relievers ahead of the deadline, the organization doesn’t seem desperate to make a major move. Phillies owner John Middleton and the rest of the front office have reiterated that the regular season bullpen looks a lot different from the playoff bullpen.
"A bullpen in the regular season is an entirely different animal than a bullpen in the postseason," Middleton said about the Phillies’ bullpen outlook for the remainder of the season, per MLB.com’s Paul Casella. " ... I can see [Mick] Abel in the bullpen coming out at 97 mph with a really good curveball. [Andrew] Painter might be up here the same way. So you never know."
Teams typically opt for a three-man starting rotation in the playoffs and slide the remaining starters into the bullpen. The Phillies have done this in the past and seem confident that it will help shore up the team’s biggest weakness this season come playoff time.
Phillies’ top pitching prospects Andrew Painter and Mick Abel in mix for playoff spots in bullpen
Abel had early success after being first called up for his major league debut in May. The 23-year-old couldn’t keep it up and was sent back down to Triple-A on July 4.
Abel has impressed through his first two starts since being demoted. The right-hander has allowed just three hits and has yet to allow a run in 12 innings, bringing his season ERA with the IronPigs to 1.83 through 12 starts.
Interestingly, Middleton also brought up Painter’s name along with Abel when discussing the Phillies’ potential playoff bullpen plans. Painter is the organization’s top prospect and has been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery after not pitching for two seasons.
Painter hasn’t been the dominant pitcher he was before his injury, owning a 3-5 record with a 4.84 ERA in 16 starts between Single-A and Triple-A in 2025. The 22-year-old right-hander owns a 5.01 ERA through 12 starts with the IronPigs and has allowed 12 earned runs in his last three starts.
To the displeasure of the fans, with the addition of Robertson and a few of the starters moving to the bullpen in the playoffs, the Phillies seem content with where the bullpen will be in October if they’re unable to land a high-leverage reliever before the trade deadline.