Bullpen Continues To Be Glaring Need For Philadelphia Phillies Before New Season
Major League Baseball teams can never have enough pitching.
Especially in the bullpen.
When the starting rotation suffers injuries or inconsistency, the bullpen must be strong.
The Philadelphia Phillies, as currently constructed, sure could use another couple of strong arms.
Craig Kimbrel signed with the Baltimore Orioles in the offseason. Yes, Kimbrel scuffled down the stretch. But he also made 71 appearances.
The Phillies do have plenty of solid relievers such as Jose Alvarado, Gregory Soto, Seranthony Dominguez and Orion Kerkering among others. Soto and Dominguez both went through their share of struggles with control last season.
Matt Strahm and Jeff Hoffman had solid seasons, but success doesn't always carry over from year to year.
"I always tell guys it takes one hot month for your life to change in this game,"Strahm said recently. "As long as you're with a team, anything can happen in a month."
Connor Brogdon, Andrew Bellatti and Dylan Covey are each out of Minor League options. Brogdon and Bellatti, most notably, regressed from the previous season.
There's still time before spring training. President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski isn't likely to stand pat. That would be very surprising.
Phil Maton would have helped. Former Phillie Hector Neris would have been a good move.
Just because Philadelphia hasn't added relievers now doesn't mean it won't happen this month or in March. It would be ideal to solidify the roster as quickly as possible to build chemistry.
That does matter.
For now, all the Phillies fans can do is wait, hope and trust that Dombrowski isn't done tweaking this roster for another shot at their first World Series title since 2008.
