Philadelphia Phillies Young Star Not Feeling Pressure About Increased Role

It became clear the Philadelphia Phillies weren't going to bring back Jeff Hoffman or Carlos Estevez.

With both players hitting the open market after two straight seasons of delivering elite results out of the bullpen, the front office knew it would be tough to retain both of them based on the amount of money they were projected to receive.

Hoffman was the first to find a new home, signing a multi-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays that officially ended his tenure with the team that resurrected his career.

Estevez is still on the open market, and even though there was some thought the Phillies might bring him back since they don't have a clearcut closer on their roster right now, it's looking more and more likely he'll also depart with his market beginning to heat up.

Instead of re-signing either of these two, Philadelphia opted to take a flyer on Jordan Romano, a previously dominant reliever who was non-tendered by the Blue Jays this winter after his 2024 campaign was marred by injury.

But with two impact arms now no longer part of the relief staff, one of the players already in place will step into a larger role.

Right now, that seems to be Orion Kerkering, the former top prospect who rocketed through the Phillies' pipeline in 2023 to make his MLB debut at the end of the year before the playoffs began.

Since that point, he's been allowed to develop at the Major League level, but with Hoffman gone and Estevez likely to follow suit, he's going to be thrust into more high-leverage situations where he has to get the outs the previous duo once recorded.

Kerkering is known as a cool customer, so it should come as no surprise he's not feeling the pressure when it comes to his increased role.

"I think it'll be super fun. No pressure at all. It's the same three outs every time I go out there, or however many outs Topper [Rob Thomson] wants me to get. No matter what inning it is, I think they're all super important. I don't think it really matters too much," he said per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.

The 23-year-old was phenomenal in 2024.

Across his 64 outings in the regular season, he posted a 2.29 ERA and ERA+ that was 78 points above the league average of 100. He struck out 74 batters in 63 innings, walking just 17 while only allowing two homers.

But, there was one crack in his game.

He was 0-for-2 in save opportunities, and if he's going to be utilized in that role throughout the year, then that has to improve.

Pitching coach Caleb Cotham is confident Kerkering will be able to handle those responsibilities, though.

"That's an easy yes for me. If we define closer like the ability to get the most important outs in a game, he's there," he said per Zolecki.

Kerkering was one of the few bullpen arms who didn't completely melt during the playoffs last year, allowing just one run across his four outings and 3.2 innings pitched.

The sky is the limit for the right-hander, and he could make the losses of Hoffman and Estevez hurt less if he continues to perform at an elite level when he's thrown into important situations.