Phillies Bullpen Has Failed Miserably in This Key Area This Season

The Philadelphia Phillies need to address this need in their bullpen ahead of the deadline.

May 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson hands the ball to pitcher Orion Kerkering during the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson has had his hands full all season navigating what has been a shaky bullpen.

Nothing has come easily to the relief pitching staff this year. At the start of the season, Jordan Romano, their biggest addition to help offset the losses of Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez, struggled mightily.

Orion Kerkering, who was moving up the pecking order with their departures, was not replicating the success he had during a breakout 2024 campaign.

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Naturally, as they began to find their footing, the team suffered another major loss.

Closer Jose Alvarado was hit with an 80-game suspension because of a positive PED test. Not only would he miss half the year, but he is ineligible to pitch in the playoffs should the team qualify.

That created a huge void in the team’s bullpen.

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Alvarado was one of three left-handed pitchers the team had, along with Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks. There is only one other lefty in Triple-A, leaving the team short on southpaws to turn to.

Thomson cannot rely on Strahm and Banks to face every left-handed batter in the opposing team’s lineup, which leads to the most glaring issue the bullpen is facing: the manager doesn’t currently have a right-handed pitcher he can trust in high-leverage situations against left-handed batters.

“Jordan Romano (.884 OPS versus lefties), Carlos Hernández (.987) and Joe Ross (.796) haven’t been effective in those situations. The only bullpens with a worse OPS in right-on-left matchups are the Athletics and Dodgers,” wrote Matt Gelb of The Athletic (subscription required).

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Kerkerking has been crushed by left-handed hitters also, registering an OPS of .845 against him through June 8.

The No. 1 need for the Phillies ahead of the trade deadline is to find a relief pitcher who has success shutting down left-handed bats.

It is their most glaring weakness on the pitching staff right now and until they can address it, there is going to be immense pressure on the starting rotation to work deep into games, lessening the at-bats the bullpen will have to face left-handed hitters.

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