2 Phillies players who’ve earned more playing time, 1 who deserves less
By Edward Eng
Yunior Marte has earned more playing time
Back during the 2022-23 offseason, the Phillies added some firepower to their bullpen by acquiring Yunior Marte from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for left-handed pitcher Erik Miller. Marte possesses a strong pitching repertoire consisting of a four-seam fastball and sinker in the high 90s, mixed with his off-speed slider in the high 80s to throw opposing batters off.
Considering the filthy offerings he can muster, it's quite surprising that he hasn’t achieved the level of success in the big leagues as many have expected.
Last year with the Phillies, Marte had an up-and-down season that saw him split his time between the major and minor leagues. He struggled quite a bit during his time with the big league club, as he pitched to a 5.03 ERA and 1.63 WHIP, giving up a whopping 27 runs, including six home runs, along with 38 strikeouts in 39 1/3 innings. On the other hand, he showed more success down in the minors, where he posted a stellar 1.80 ERA and 1.05 WHIP, giving up just four earned runs with 24 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched.
Now 29, Marte is looking forward to finally having a breakout year and showing that he truly deserves a permanent spot on the major league roster. So far, Marte has been a man on a mission ever since the start of spring training. During the preseason, he held the opposition scoreless in nine appearances, giving up just three hits, five walks and seven strikeouts in 10 innings. Now fast forward to the regular season, he has somehow maintained his scoreless streak, having just given up one hit, two walks and four strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings in five appearances.
At this rate, there’s no question that Marte is slowly but surely asserting himself as a permanent fixture in the Phillies’ bullpen in 2024. There should no longer be any worries that he will see time in the minors again. At the same time, since he has been so dominant, the Phillies may want to take advantage of that and get him into more game action, especially in higher-leverage situations, to provide the greatest benefit.