Even though many relievers were impressive, fans expect the front office and general manager Matt Klentak of the Philadelphia Phillies to add veterans to the pen.
Relief Corps Options:
Continuing the same sentiment despite changes blurs the present and the future from the past.
While Rhys Hoskins, Nick Williams, Jorge Alfaro and J.P. Crawford received considerable attention, the effectiveness of the pen only minimized fans’ complaints. The reason is their first-half struggles still haunt the locals despite excellent performances in August and September. In fact, management will probably base adding relievers on their plans for the starting staff. Realistically, if they pick up two experienced hurlers to complement Aaron Nola, they might acquire only one setup arm because they’ll have Mark Leiter to work as a long man.
Finding left-handed relievers is difficult, which means Hoby Milner will go into spring training with a job to lose because of his surprising numbers. He only struggled in one outing out of 25 from July 29 through Sept. 29 for a 0.95 ERA. Therefore, he can share the sixth inning with Edubray Ramos and work as a lefty specialist in the later frames.
Following his demotion to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs on June 26, Ramos went there to address his shortcomings and prepare for his call-up after the likely trades of Pat Neshek and Joaquin Benoit. In other words, when he returned, Ramos was going to pitch the seventh inning. And he hasn’t disappointed the GM because he’s only had three poor appearances out of 23: a 2.81 ERA for August and September.
While many fans were splitting their time with the red pinstripes and another Philadelphia sports franchise, Adam Morgan was dominating the seventh with a 0.69 ERA for the last two months. And he’s only struggled in two outings out of 20 to cement a role for next summer. Yet although the faithful might find it unbelievable, the southpaw has only allowed two earned runs in 26 frames.
Down to his last of three options, Luis Garcia seized the eighth-inning opportunity with a 1.61 ERA from Aug. 12 through Sept. 29. And he’s only had difficulty in two of his last 23 appearances. As for ’18, Garcia has earned the right to continue as a setup man.
"FOOD FOR THOUGHT: “It took me a few years to realize that throwing harder wasn’t always better.” – Dennis “Eck” Eckersley"