Zach Eflin, BAL
Former Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin may have left two years ago, but his departure from the ballclub during the 2022-23 offseason to join the Tampa Bay Rays could end up hurting the Phillies more as the years go by.
At first thought, the loss didn’t seem too big of a deal. After all, during his eight-year tenure with the Phillies, Eflin just put up pedestrian numbers, with a 36-45 record, 4.49 ERA and 1.30 WHIP, with 160 walks and 552 strikeouts in 659 1/3 innings pitched in 115 starts. It was easy for the Phillies to find an adequate replacement for the right-handed pitcher.
However, Eflin was a first-round pick back in the 2012 MLB Draft for a reason, and the Rays certainly discovered why in his first year with his new ballclub. In 2023, Eflin finally had his breakout season that everyone had been waiting for, posting stellar numbers across the board including an AL-leading 16 wins, along with a 3.50 ERA and 1.02 WHIP, with just 24 walks and 186 strikeouts in 177 2/3 innings.
This season, Eflin struggled to a 4.09 ERA in the first half with the Rays. But since joining the Orioles at the trade deadline, he has drastically turned things around. In nine starts with his new club, he sports a 5-2 record with a solid 2.60 ERA and 1.12 WHIP, with 11 walks and 47 strikeouts in 55 1/3 innings. If he manages to carry those ace-like numbers with him into MLB playoffs, he will be tough to face if the Phillies were to meet Baltimore in the World Series.
More importantly, as Eflin enters the prime of his career, he appears to be solidifying himself as a potential front-end of the rotation pitcher. In retrospect, the Phillies just so happened to sign Taijuan Walker to a much larger deal the same offseason that Eflin left town as his replacement. With Walker’s ongoing struggles and Eflin’s success, this huge headache for the Phillies certainly goes beyond just the potential postseason matchup as they are left to ponder what could have been.