Phillies Address Bullpen in Trade With Chicago Cubs

Pitching and the bullpen have been constant topics of discussion for the Philadelphia Phillies this entire offseason.

Would they go after one of the high-profile starters after re-signing Aaron Nola? Is Josh Hader a possibility? Can they land some depth pieces for the back end of their staff?

The constant chatter really hasn't resulted in much.

The Phillies took a major swing for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but that came up short. They were never truly interested in Hader based on his price and they've yet to land some of the other relief options available.

Instead of continuing to search on the free agent market, Philadelphia went with the trade route and landed Michael Rucker from the Chicago Cubs for cash considerations.

The 29-year-old has split time between the Cubs' Major League roster and their Triple-A affiliate the past three seasons.

In 96 MLB appearances, Rucker has an ERA of 4.96 over 123 1/3 innings pitched. Much of the inflated numbers come from his rookie season in 2021 when he posted a 6.99 ERA.

The righty bounced back in 2022 to have his best season in the MLB, recording an ERA of 3.95 across 41 games and 54 2/3 innings pitched. His ERA+ was 106 that year, suggesting he can be an above-average pitcher.

To make room for Rucker, the Phillies designated relief pitcher Andrew Bellatti for assignment.

He came to Philadelphia ahead of the 2022 season on a minor league deal. The righty was eventually promoted and put together a solid year for the Phillies with a 3.31 ERA and ERA+ of 121 over 59 appearances and 54 1/3 innings pitched.

However, he struggled last season with an ERA of 5.11 and spent the majority of his time with the Triple-A affiliate.

There was some hope that Bellatti might have a bounce back type of year, especially with some question marks currently surrounding the relief staff.

Philadelphia also might lose the right-hander after designating him for assignment since he's out of minor league options. He'll go through the waivers process where other teams will have the opportunity to claim him before he hits the Phillies' minor league system.