The Philadelphia Phillies fell short of World Series expectations in 2024. Their notorious boom or bust offense took on heavy criticism after their National League Division Series loss against the New York Mets.
However, a sudden bullpen implosion actually crushed the Phillies more drastically during the four-game series. They entered the postseason with a poised back end, but ultimately exited with a cringy bullpen 11.37 ERA.
Phillies Bullpen
Dave Dombrowski has rotated different casts of relievers in multiple cycles during his tenure with the Phillies. Bullpen blowups in October have haunted the future Hall of Fame executive throughout his career.
He’s inserted Jordan Romano as a primary right-handed option complementing high-leverage arms Jose Alvarado, Orion Kerkering, and Matt Strahm to begin the 2025 season.
Rob Thomson looks for relievers to earn trust throughout the regular season to take the mound in critical situations in Red October.
He’s used the closer by committee situation to optimize his bullpen situationally during his first three seasons as a major league manager. How will the trust tree come together in 2025?
If the Phillies earn a fourth consecutive bid to the MLB Playoffs, who will fill the closer’s role (if it’s designated)? While Romano will likely get the bulk of the save opportunities during the early months, the door is open for another pitcher to steal an opportunity.
Phillies Opening Day bullpen pitchers ranked based on unofficial predictions of the likeliest to record a save during the 2025 MLB Playoffs
1. Orion Kerkering
Very few MLB relievers make 11 postseason appearances before their 24th birthday.
Orion Kerkering already has the pitch arsenal and the big league acumen to convince Thomson he deserves the ball in the highest-leverage spots in a chase for a World Series.
He won’t begin the 2025 season as the preferred right-hander ahead of Jordan Romano. However, Kerkering already finished 23rd among qualified major league pitchers in ERA during his rookie season. He’s due for an even bigger breakout.
Expect the new revelation of Stuff+ to make its way through even more MLB conversations this season as an analytical evaluation of velocity, break, arm angle, and release extension.
Kerkering ranked 11th among all qualified MLB pitchers in Stuff+ in 2024 largely thanks to a nasty sweeper that helped him strike out 10.6 batters per nine innings as a rookie.
He threw the sweeper 55% of the time last season, and the development of his other pitches could help him reach his ceiling as a ninth inning stopper in Red October.
Photo by Heather Barry/Getty Images2. Jose Alvarado
The Hefty Lefty slammed the door on the Boston Red Sox for his 12th save of the 2024 season on June 11. He finished with only 13.
His slow second half aligned appropriately with the performance of his teammates.
Alvarado shook off a few tough outings early in the season to regain the form that helped him overpower hitters in 2022 and 2023. His velocity dipped during the second half, however, and Matt Strahm overtook him as the pen’s top left-hander.
He refocused well after a short personal leave late in the summer that included a trip to his native Venezuela, but Alvarado ultimately made only one low-leverage appearance during the NLDS.
He spent the offseason improving his conditioning. The immediate results turned some heads in Clearwater when Alvarado reached 102 miles per hour (mph) on the gun.
Alvarado’s strikeout rate is the best indicator of his rhythm. He fanned an impressive 14.3 batters per nine innings in 2022 and 13.9 in 2023 on the back of a devastating power sinker and an effective cutter.
The Phillies rode him to a National League pennant as one of their top bullpen horses in Red October 2022. Two disappointing World Series blow-ups ruined his postseason stat line, but Thomson has seen “the real Alvy” at his height.
Can Alvarado regain his status as one of the most feared left-handed relievers in baseball in 2025? Or, will he remind everyone how nervous they’ve felt at times during his career in erratic outings when he’s lost his command?
Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images3. Jordan Romano
Phillies fans played a major part in bringing Jordan Romano to Philadelphia. The 6-foot-5 hurler pointed to a seemingly average day game with the Toronto Blue Jays in May 2024 when the passionate atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park influenced his decision in free agency.
Dave Dombrowski complimented Romano and Max Kepler for betting on themselves with one-year deals after injury-plagued seasons.
However, Jayson Stark spoke on 97.5 The Fanatic about how an unnamed MLB executive worries that the two offseason free agents and fellow newcomer Jesus Luzardo fell easily into Dombrowski’s hands because their former clubs weren’t confident in their health status.
Romano ranked fourth in the majors in saves and seventh among qualified relievers in ERA over a three-year stretch from 2021-2023.
A fastball in the mid or upper 90s helped him post an impressive whiff rate and strikeout totals that Carlos Estevez didn’t bring at the back end of the bullpen last season.
It’s logical to think Romano can rejoin the top tier of MLB relievers if he’s healthy.
However, the Phillies allowed Jeff Hoffman to walk to the Blue Jays in favor of a 32-year-old coming off elbow surgery. The unrelated swap of relievers carries a serious risk.
Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images4. Matt Strahm
Matt Strahm bounced back from a rough Opening Day outing for a career year in 2024. A 21-game streak of scoreless appearances helped him finish ninth among qualified relievers with a 1.87 ERA and tied for fourth with a 0.75 WHIP.
Will he replicate a performance above his career averages at age 33? Relievers are the most difficult ballplayers to predict.
Strahm unquestionably deserves credit for earning Thomson’s trust in 2024. He’ll begin the season with high-leverage responsibilities despite an unusual spring training with a minor injury and a bizarre story about a cardboard box delaying his progress.
Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images5. Joe Ross
The Phillies signed Joe Ross this winter to play a swingman role between the starting rotation and the bullpen. They opted for Taijuan Walker to replace Ranger Suarez after the first injury to a starting pitcher, however.
Matt Strahm set a blueprint for the swingman role in 2023 with a more expensive deal and a longer major league track record, but Ross brings legitimate reasons for optimism.
The 6-foot-4 righty finished sixth among MLB relievers who pitched at least 25 innings with a 1.67 ERA out of the bullpen last season.
He leans heavily on his slider and sinker. He’s increased his slider usage throughout his MLB career, and opponents hit just .237 against it last season.
Ross started 76 games and appeared in 22 more in relief over parts of six seasons with the Washington Nationals from 2015-2021.
He sat out the 60-game season in 2020 and then missed both the 2022 and 2023 seasons recovering from his second Tommy John surgery.
His ability to work his way into a contributing relief role with the Milwaukee Brewers last October should command more attention than some of his middle relief teammates will get.
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images6. Jose Ruiz
Journeyman right-hander Jose Ruiz turned some heads in his first season with the Phillies. He was never realistically going to earn high-leverage opportunities in Red October with the stacked list of names ahead of him at Citizens Bank Park.
However, he surprisingly crept into the bullpen mix enough to make a relief appearance in the sixth inning of Game 2 in the NLDS.
However, the 96 mph average of his four-seam fastball leaves the door open for him to earn an expanded role in 2025. He’ll compete with Joe Ross to earn preference as the third right-hander out of the bullpen to begin the 2025 season.
Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images7. Tanner Banks
After the Phillies acquired Tanner Banks ahead of the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline, the veteran lefty didn’t establish the clearest role.
His splits with the Chicago White Sox indicated he’d add a left-handed specialist to Philadelphia’s mix. He also pitched two innings in two of his first three outings after the trade, suggesting he’d be a long man in middle relief.
Banks could settle more comfortably into either role with a full season in 2025. He won’t begin the season with responsibility at the back end of the bullpen, but his versatility could boost him into the fifth spot behind Romano, Alvarado, Kerkering, and Strahm in the top tier.
Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images8. Carlos Hernandez
Waiver wire pickup Carlos Hernandez has floated between Triple A and the majors the past five seasons in the Kansas City Royals organization.
A 6-foot-4 frame, a 98 mph fastball, and questionable command reminds the Phillies of his Venezuelan countryman Jose Alvarado pitching from the opposite side.
Hernandez posted a respectable 3.30 ERA in 27 games with the Royals last season, but he struggled in 25 Triple-A performances with an inflated 5.40 ERA.
If he wants to stick with the Phillies, he’ll need to drastically improve his 4.4 career rate of walks per nine innings.
The famously patient Rob Thomson won’t point out his players’ faults too often during postgame media availability, yet he’s quick to mention walks from his relief pitchers as a detriment. Ricky Bottalico also emphasizes the free passes as a killer for relief pitchers.
Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
