Philadelphia Phillies make underrated move in acquiring Luis Avilan

The Philadelphia Phillies may have found the final piece to their bullpen puzzle with Luis Avilan.

With the Philadelphia Phillies in the midst of a surprising playoff push, it makes sense that reinforcements would be coming. One of the areas that the Phillies have needed help in has been in adding another left handed reliever, with Adam Morgan as the only lefty currently on the major league roster. As Morgan has not been dominant against lefty hitters, allowing a .247/.319/.309 batting line to same side hitters.

The Phillies have addressed that hole in the bullpen, as they acquired Luis Avilan from the Chicago White Sox. In exchange, 23 year old minor leaguer Felix Paulino is heading to the South Side.

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On the surface, Avilan would not appear to be that major of an acquisition. His 3.86 ERA and 1.361 WHiP over 58 appearances, covering 39.2 innings, is hardly impressive. However, Avilan has dominated lefty hitters, holding them to an impressive .214/.276/.286 batting line over 77 plate appearances. He could be the piece that the Phillies need to reach the postseason, and advance in October.

Avilan is not the type of player that will generate a great deal of interest. After all, players like Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams were added by the Cubs and Cardinals respectively on Tuesday, trades that grabbed far more attention. And yet, with his ability to shut down lefties, Avilan could be just as valuable to the Phillies chances.

This move also further solidifies the Phillies bullpen depth. They seemed to have figured out the closer position with Seranthony Dominguez taking over the role. Pat Neshek has been excellent in a setup role, as has young Victor Arano. Avilan adds a solid lefty to that mix, an arm that can be controlled next year as well.

Luis Avilan is not the type of player that will command headlines. For the Philadelphia Phillies, he could be the type of player that brings back a long postseason run.