3 free agent relievers the Phillies need to sign, and 1 to avoid at all costs
Who should the Phillies target in free agency this offseason to upgrade their bullpen, and who should they stay away from?
As the Philadelphia Phillies work to revamp their pitching staff ahead of the 2024 MLB season, one area they will be looking to upgrade via free agency will be their relief corps.
During the 2023 season, José Alvarado, Matt Strahm, Jeff Hoffman, Craig Kimbrel, and Seranthony Domínguez (to some degree) helped form the main effective bullpen core for the ballclub, with other members having varying degrees of success throughout the year. As Kimbrel heads into free agency and will not likely be back, the Phillies will have a bit of work to do in re-establishing their strong core for the upcoming season.
Here, we look at three big-time relievers who the Phillies should do all they can to sign, and one they should avoid at all costs.
Josh Hader
There's no question who the grand prize of this year’s crop of relievers in the free agent market is. Josh Hader has been one of the best relievers in the game ever since his debut with the Milwaukee Brewers back in 2017.
Aside from the past season, the five-time All-Star has helped lead his team successfully into the postseason every single year since 2018. Over the course of his seven-year MLB career, Hader has posted a stellar 2.50 ERA, 169 ERA+, 0.94 WHIP, with 165 saves and 648 strikeouts in just 388 2/3 innings pitched over 349 games.
Hader would more than make up for the loss of Kimbrel with an absolute dominance and consistency unmatched by others. The left-hander would form a strong one-two punch with Alvarado at the back end of the bullpen for the Phillies.
Rumors had already linked the Phillies to the bonafide closer even before the start of free agency. Most likely, the majority of teams will be competing for his services, but the Phillies definitely have the determination and money to get the job done in getting him to sign the papers.
Matt Moore
Matt Moore began his MLB career as a starter for the Tampa Bay Rays way back in 2011. The former All-Star was considered a key part of the Rays’ rotation during his first few seasons in the big leagues.
Unfortunately, he regressed quite considerably between 2015 and 2021, including a failed starting stint with the Phillies in 2021, and showed he was no longer an effective option in the starting role. As a result, he reinvented himself as a reliever for the 2022 season with the Texas Rangers and hasn't looked back since.
Even though he'll be turning 35 next year, Moore has become one of the top relievers in the game the past two seasons. In his career year in 2022, he pitched to a 5-2 record with 14 holds and five saves, along with a 1.95 ERA and 1.18 WHIP, giving up only 16 earned runs, including just three home runs, and 83 strikeouts in 74 innings pitched. He followed that up with a solid 2023 season in which he posted a 5-1 winning record with 22 holds, a 2.56 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 60 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings of work across three teams.
Moore would be the ideal setup man to pair with Alvarado in setting the table for the team’s closer. More importantly, it probably won’t cost the Phillies a lot to obtain his services as he was waived twice during the 2023 season despite his dominance, including being designated for assignment at the end of the season by the Miami Marlins. So surely, the former Phillie will be happy to come back to Philadelphia and play for a contender again before he hits the twilight of his career.
Jordan Hicks
If the Phillies want to include some younger blood in their relief corps, look no further than flamethrowing Jordan Hicks. Among one of the younger relief pitchers available in free agency, Hicks possesses a devastating fastball that constantly hits 100 mph on the radar gun, which he uses to blow hitters away. The 27-year-old also has the versatility to be extremely effective as both a setup man and a closer for any team he plays on.
Despite playing on a struggling St. Louis Cardinals team in 2023, Hicks still managed to save eight games for the ballclub while registering a respectable 3.67 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, and 59 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings pitched. However, his true dominance was on full display following his trade to the Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline. Down the stretch with the Blue Jays, Hicks picked up four saves and seven holds while pitching to a career-best 2.63 ERA, with a 1.08 WHIP, giving up only seven earned runs while striking out 22 in 24 innings of work.
Being a right-handed pitcher, Hicks would complement Alvarado perfectly, with the two paired together for lefty-righty matchups near the end of tight ball games. Unlike Hader, who would exclusively close games, and Moore, who would pitch more in the middle to late innings, Hicks could give the Phillies some situational advantages as he could be used interchangeably between the setup and closer role. He would give the Phillies an added dimension they didn't have before and could ultimately be the difference in putting the team over the top.
Shintaro Fujinami
Once taken first overall by four different teams in the Japan Central League before being awarded to the Hanshin Tigers, Japanese phenom Shintaro Fujinami had all the makings of a future superstar. He possesses a blazing fastball that averages 98 mph while topping out at triple digits, mixed in with a bunch of off-speed changeups and cutters that he uses to strike out many hitters. With the makings of the next potential Daisuke Matsuzaka or Kazuhiro Sasaki, Fujinami has failed to reach his full potential in his MLB debut season in 2023.
In 34 games with the Oakland Athletics, he made seven starts in total and compiled a 5-8 record with a bloated 8.57 ERA and 1.66 WHIP, giving up 47 earned runs, with 30 walks and 51 strikeouts in just 49 1/3 innings pitched. Fujinami would end up being traded to the Baltimore Orioles at the trade deadline.
Thinking perhaps his overall performance was held back with a non-contending team like the Athletics, his tenure with the Orioles further proved that he has yet to harness his pitches to their maximum potential. In 30 games, he posted a 4.85 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, with 32 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings of work. Those numbers were definitely an improvement from what he had accomplished with the Athletics, but they haven’t been the dominating numbers one was expecting.
As a result, the Orioles will let Fujinami walk right into free agency, choosing to stay away from the inconsistent pitcher. If the AL East division leader is making sure to avoid re-signing Fujinami, the Phillies should do the same and steer clear of the former Japanese phenom. That way, they don't have to risk dealing with an inconsistent and unproven pitcher who could hinder their quest to get back to the postseason and World Series in 2024.
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