If there was ever an under-the-radar move, the trade the Philadelphia Phillies made on Friday would be it. In a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Dec. 19, they acquired left-handed reliever Kyle Backhus in exchange for outfield prospect Avery Owusu-Asiedu.
Teams like the Phillies aren't always going to go for the biggest signing possible to improve their roster. The MLB offseason, within reason, gets wrapped up in the biggest names in the sport changing teams and massive contracts being signed. What's not as exciting, but extremely effective to fill out the rest of the major league roster, are small trades like Backhus.
Phillies fans are curious what to make of new sidearm reliever Kyle Backhus
Fans won't always know every name that comes across their newsfeeds, but that's what makes those small additions worth it in the end. Let's take a closer look at what Backhus might be for the Phillies in 2026.
Backhus is a 27-year-old side-winding lefty originally from New Waverly, Texas. He played college baseball at Sam Houston State University from 2017 to 2021 and then signed with the Diamondbacks as an undrafted free agent in 2021. He then remained in their minor league system through 2024 before making his MLB debut on June 8.
We've wrapped up our road trip, so now we bring you Kyle Backhus striking out Elly De La Cruz for his first Major League Strikeout!!! pic.twitter.com/tJwDHcNHuP
— Reno Aces (@Aces) June 8, 2025
Backhus finished the 2025 season 0-3 with a 4.62 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and 22 strikeouts across 25 1/3 innings. His main pitch arsenal consisted of a sinker, sweeper, and changeup.
Perhaps his season was just too short to get a real gauge of his potential, but he has some real upside. Although he didn't qualify in 2025, according to Statcast he finished in the top 20 percent in both hard-hit rate with 35.4 percent and barrel rate with only 4.9 percent.
He uses his 78 mph changeup the least of his three offerings, only throwing it 9.5 percent of the time and just to right-handed batters. But on 41 changeups this year, he got a 46.7 percent whiff rate.
Backhus averages 91 mph on his sinker, the fastest pitch he throws. However, batters hit just .231 against the pitch and slugged just .354. While he doesn't generate a ton of swing and miss with it, it's an effective pitch for keeping the ball on the ground. With an average launch angle of four degrees, he ran a 46.3 percent ground ball rate.
His biggest asset right now is his extension, which finished in the 96th percentile at 7.2 feet. Pair that with his nine-degree arm angle, and it could give hitters fits even when his pitches aren't as sharp.
There's room to improve for Backhus coming into his age-28 season, but the Phillies taking a chance on a team-controlled reliever isn't going to derail their season. Even if the Phillies can't make it work, he has minor league options and it'll just be a cool $820,000 on their payroll. Phillies fans would love to see what he can do for their roster, but only time will tell.