Relievers, Part 1
McKinley Moore: Fewer walks
McKinley Moore made his major league debut on April 10, and in three MLB outings, he posted an 18.90 ERA on five hits, seven earned runs, five walks and two strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings. After injuries derailed most of the middle of his season, he had a 1.33 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings across three levels in the minor leagues — the catch being he also handed out 22 free passes.
Nick Nelson: Major league innings
The 28-year-old Nick Nelson only made one appearance for Philadelphia in 2023 — a 5 1/3-inning outing on Oct. 1, when he struck out three, walked two and allowed only one earned run. After dealing with hamstring injuries this past season, the righty was never able to climb back to the big leagues, where he logged 68 2/3 innings in 2022.
Andrew Bellatti: More strikeouts
Andrew Bellatti will need to figure out how to get back on track with swings and misses. After posting a rate of 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings in 24 2/3 innings in 2022, that fell to 9.1 this past season. Part of that decline was decreased usage and effectiveness of his slider, a pitch that had a 29.4 putaway percentage in 2022 compared to 21.0 this past season, according to Baseball Savant.
Yunior Marté: Fewer trips to Triple-A
Yunior Marté bounced between Triple-A and Philly frequently in 2023, and while he posted a 1.80 ERA in the minors, that ballooned to 5.03 in the big leagues. One reason was his inability to get his sinker past batters. After holding batters to a .267 batting average on the pitch in 2022, that climbed to .341 in 2023, even though his velocity increased from 96.9 mph to 97.6, according to Baseball Savant.
Luis Ortiz: An extended opportunity
The 28-year-old Luis Ortiz has only logged 33 1/3 innings of MLB action across four seasons, with 19 of those coming in 2023. In limited action over the past two seasons, he has a 2.60 ERA, and Baseball Reference has him projected to hit 35 innings in 2024. After April, though, he didn't appear in more than three games in any given month the rest of the way.
Connor Brogdon: Cutter to bounce back
In 29 innings with the Phillies, Connor Brogdon put up a 4.03 ERA. Across the board, though, his velocity was down for his changeup (83.8 mph to 83.2), four-seamer (95.1 to 94.7) and cutter (88.3 to 87.5). Those decreases also affected his putaway percentage for each pitch, with the cutter seeing the biggest drop from 29.6 percent in 2022 to only 13 percent in 2023, according to Baseball Savant.
Dylan Covey: Late-season momentum to carry into 2024
The 2023 season showcased the two tales of Dylan Covey. The 32-year-old's season didn't start well, with a 6.75 ERA in eight appearances across May and June. However, before a stint on the injured list left him off the playoff roster, the right-hander put up a 0.82 ERA on one earned run in 11 innings during September and October.
Nobody -- and I mean NOBODY -- saw it coming, but Dylan Covey has had a shocking second half for the Phillies.
— Alex Carr (@AlexCarrMLB) September 28, 2023
Since July 20th, he's allowed just 4 earned runs across 22 IP -- a 1.64 ERA.
He's obviously seen some good luck in that span, but he has far superseded expectations.