Phillies Shake up Bullpen Again Ahead of Reds Series

The Philadelphia Phillies have demoted a relief pitcher to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to bring up Max Lazar.

Feb 24, 2026; Jupiter, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Max Lazar (60) pitches in the second inning against the Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Philadelphia Phillies have one of the best closers in baseball with Jhoan Duran locking things down at the end of games.

However, getting the ball to him has sometimes proven difficult for interim manager Don Mattingly. The starting rotation is doing a lot of heavy lifting to help compensate for a bullpen that has been overtaxed and underwhelming at points this season.

Outside of Orion Kerkering, there isn’t much of a sure thing for Mattingly when it comes to building a bridge to Duran. As a result, the team has been shaking up the bullpen in search of some help and has made another change ahead of their series with the Cincinnati Reds.

As shared by the Phillies' official account on X, the team has optioned left-handed pitcher Kyle Backhus to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Taking his place on the 26-man roster will be Max Lazar, who was recalled from Lehigh Valley.

Phillies bring back Max Lazar and demore Kyle Backhus

Jul 1, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Kyle Backhus (19) throws a pitch during the sixth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Backhus gave up a run in his latest appearance for the team on July 6 in a 15-1 blowout loss at the hands of the Kansas City Royals. He was given a golden opportunity to assert himself as a potential key piece of a bullpen lacking left-handed options, but didn’t make the most of it.

Since returning to the Big League club on June 24, Backhus has made seven appearances, throwing 5.2 innings. He had a 7.94 ERA and 5.22 FIP, giving up 11 hits and issuing one walk to go along with five strikeouts. Two batters were also hit by a pitch.

A little bit of bad luck was baked into those numbers, as opponents had a batting average on balls in play of .455, which is incredibly high and likely unsustainable. Alas, he will be spending some time back down in the minor leagues to figure things out with a 5.87 ERA at the Major League level this year.

Prior to tonight's game against the Cincinnati Reds, the Phillies recalled RHP Max Lazar from triple-A Lehigh Valley. To make room on the 26-man roster, LHP Kyle Backhus was optioned to Lehigh Valley.

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 7, 2026

Lazar missed a large chunk of the 2026 season because of injury and has made three appearances with Philadelphia, throwing four innings with a 4.50 ERA. He has been solid at Triple-A with a 3.93 ERA across 18.1 innings of work to go along with 17 strikeouts.

A key part of the team’s middle relief last summer, Lazar has a chance to lock down a consistent role coming out of the Phillies bullpen that will assuredly be shaken up again at some point in the future.

Philadelphia is patiently awaiting the return of veteran Brad Keller from the injured list, and Dave Dombrowski could certainly be on the lookout for relief help ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

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