Phillies Have Glaring Need Emerging in Their Bullpen

The Philadelphia Phillies bullpen is becoming a major area of need.

May 27, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jose Alvarado (46) delivers during the ninth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

A lot of the focus recently for the Philadelphia Phillies has been on the struggles of starting pitcher Andrew Painter, who was demoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, and the concerns of their outfield.

Both have dominated headlines, and are two areas that Dav Dombrowski will work hard to address ahead of the trade deadline on Aug. 3. However, there is a more glaring need emerging for the team to address: a left-handed pitcher out of the bullpen.

Brad Keller isn’t left-handed, but his landing on the injured list will test what was already thin depth behind closer Jhoan Duran and setup man Orion Kerkering. The need for bullpen reinforcements has become even more glaring, not only because of Keller’s absence, but also because of the struggles of their southpaws.

Tanner Banks was sent down to Triple-A along with Painter, a demotion that was warranted after he produced a 5.86 ERA in 26 appearances and 27.1 innings pitched with 31 strikeouts. However, his 3.67 FIP indicates there may have been some bad luck involved in his underwhelming raw numbers.

Phillies have major left-handed void in bullpen

Jun 16, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Tanner Banks (58) throws a pitch against the Miami Marlins in the eighth inning at Citizens Bank Park. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Regardless, he was sent down to work on some things. With Kyle Backhaus still on the injured list, that leaves only Jose Alvarado as the sole southpaw for interim manager Don Mattingly to deploy.

Alas, confidence is likely very low in using Alvarado in high-leverage situations. He has made 32 appearances thus far this season, throwing 26 innings, with an ugly 6.58 ERA. His bWAR is -0.5, leaving a lot to be desired.

Like Banks, his FIP is solid with a 3.71, but his ERA+ is only 68, and he has a 1.731 WHIP, struggling to keep people off base. He has struggled in his two most recent outings, surrendering two earned runs against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 13 and three against the New York Mets on June 18, taking the loss.

Alvarado now has seven appearances where he has allowed at least two runs. Having him as the only left-handed option out of the bullpen is a major concern for Mattingly, who is going to have to rely on right-handed pitchers far too often to get out tough left-handed batters late in games.

That is something Dave Dombrowski is going to have to change in the coming weeks. As currently constructed, the bullpen is a major weakness, as getting the ball to Duran is becoming more and more challenging by the day.

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