For several seasons, a problematic area for the Philadelphia Phillies has been their bullpen. The team hasn’t had much out there, in their fans’ eyes, and no real closer since in 2008. Of course, Brad Lidge set the bar high then, with a world championship season of 48 saves without a blown save.
So, thoughtful fans know, yeah, that’s unlikely to happen again.
Who joins Corey Knebel in the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen?
Still, this problem area has been apparent to everyone in the Phillies “family,” and over the past offseason, as usual, new pieces were brought in to fill the bench where players mostly sit and wait.
This is a curious feature of modern baseball as starting pitchers finish fewer and fewer games: The guys who have become far more important than anyone dreamed when Allie Reynolds was in the Yankees bullpen mostly just sit there during a game.
This past off-season the Phillies brought in a new closer, Corey Knebel, several pitchers who define the term “role player,” and seemingly did what most MLB teams do regarding bullpens – cross their fingers.
So, how are things going following the four-game sweep of Colorado that brought the team back to .500, but left them still four games behind the reinforced Mets?
Packing for their series with division-leading New York, the Phillies had to be doing something right. But does that include the bullpen?
Yes and no, and the guys performing thus far may not be those who were expected to. Moreover, at least one pitcher given a lot of early innings, Bailey Falter, has been optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
As for high expectations, the Phillies had signed Brad Hand, once an important closer for San Diego and Cleveland and a three-time All-Star. Perhaps some expected a big year from Connor Brogdon, who actually tied Cy Young for an odd, early-season record last year.
Hand is actually not doing badly, but Brogdon is also “tuning up” at the Triple-A level. And Hand’s 4.1 innings through Apr. 28, his 2.08 ERA, and 1.38 WHIP trail the early numbers posted by the relatively unknown Andrew Bellatti and James Norwood in several ways.
Both those pitchers have logged 1.1 more early innings than Hand, and while this may not seem like much, keep in mind some relievers’ jobs now amount to stretching, warming up, and getting one or two guys out on a given day.
Beyond that though, Bellatti, a 12th round pick 13 years ago, and Norwood, a 7th round pick nine years ago, have posted ERAs and WHIPs of 1.80/1.00 and 3.38/0.94, respectively.
Additionally, Seranthony Dominguez, a question mark after a pitching arm repair, has looked very strong, and has filled up 7.2 innings with a 0.91 WHIP.
Best of all, though, is Knebel, who has given the Phillies eight strong innings, three saves in three opportunities, a 1.13 ERA, and 0.88 WHIP. His fastball velocity is excellent, and his curve is dropping off the proverbial table.
All these numbers will quickly change, and every player noted here could somehow become footnotes in Phillies history, but at the moment Philadelphia’s semi-anonymous reliever corps is doing all right.