Phillies Seen As 'Best Fit' For Flamethrowing Relief Pitcher

It's been clear that the philosophy of the Philadelphia Phillies' front office and coaching staff is to have hard throwing relievers come out of the bullpen the past few years.

They had the highest velocity out of any relief staff this past season with a 96.3 mph average. That was 0.5 mph faster than the next-closest team.

The Phillies want gas and they've signed arms who can produce that.

It's one of the reasons why they've been linked with superstar closer, Josh Hader, this offseason as a replacement for Craig Kimbrel, who departed this offseason.

Kimbrel's velocity is way down compared to his early years, which has been a contributing factor in his late-career struggles. Hader on the other hand, is one of the game's top relievers and would fit in nicely with their velocity philosophy, as his sinker touches the mid-to-upper 90s.

But, while Philadelphia would love to have Hader, he is reportedly looking for a contract that would make him the highest-paid closer in MLB history based on overall money or in average annual value.

This could price the Phillies out of these sweepstakes.

That's why The Athletic views them as one of the best fits for another flamethrowing reliever, Jordan Hicks, this offseason.

The 27-year-old was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays last year and has started to look like the player he was before injuries derailed his career. His 1.1 fWAR in 2023 was the highest it's been over the past three seasons.

"Hicks finally turned his high-octane raw stuff into high-end performance at age 26, posting a 3.29 ERA with a career-high 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings for St. Louis and Toronto. It was Hicks’ first year with an ERA below 4.00 in at least 30 innings since his rookie season in 2018, and his 100.3 mph average fastball velocity ranked second in the majors behind Twins flame-thrower Jhoan Duran," Tim Britton and Aaron Gleeman write.

Clocking those numbers and watching Hicks pitch might have Philadelphia ready to jump all over the possibility of signing him.

His projected four-year, $36 million contract is much more inline with what they might be willing to pay as well.