Philadelphia Phillies have plenty of left handed firepower
The Philadelphia Phillies are clearly making their bullpen a priority this offseason.
Gone are the days where Hector Neris was essentially the one given in the Phillies relief corps, even if his role was fluid. Instead, they have added more firepower, adding Matt Strahm, Gregory Soto, and Craig Kimbrel to Seranthony Dominguez and Jose Alvarado. The bullpen is certainly better than it had been.
Philadelphia Phillies locking in flamethrowing lefties
In bringing Soto on board, the Phillies not only ripped the Tigers off by sending them a trio of bench pieces, but they also did something else to improve their roster. As pointed out by Cespedes Family BBQ on Twitter, Soto and Alvarado accounted for 81% of all 100+ MPH pitches thrown by a lefty last season.
As is the case with most flamethrowing relievers, there are command concerns. Soto has a 5.3 BB/9 rate over his 204.2 innings, something that has kept him from taking that next step forward as one of the more dominant closers in the game. Alvarado has a 5.3 BB/9 rate over his major league career as well, but was able to cut that rate down to 4.1 BB/9 last season.
Every team wants to have as many power arms as possible in the bullpen. Relief corps throughout the majors have become a literal arms race, with teams stockpiling as much velocity as possible in a quest to shut down the opposition. Being able to find that type of velocity from a left handed reliever is essentially the holy grail in the bullpen.
In the Phillies’ case, it is a matter of loading up against a difficult division. The Braves and Mets have both added to their rosters and are going to be a major factor in the postseason hunt. If the Phillies are going to return to the playoffs, and attempt to defend their National League crown, they will need to have a potentially dominant bullpen. Adding that type of firepower makes a difference.
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The Philadelphia Phillies added plenty of firepower to their bullpen. With Gregory Soto and Jose Alvarado, they have two lefty flamethrowers as well.