In the last week, the Philadelphia Phillies have been dealt a duo of blows that could threaten their stranglehold on an NL Wild Card spot.
First, Aaron Nola, struggling through another one of his bizarre odd-year downturns, was ruled out for the foreseeable future with an ankle injury. Then, star closer José Alvarado was suspended for half of the season (80 games) for taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Given their 28-18 record and standing as the second-best team in a strong NL East, the Phillies are going to be playing with a lot of leads this summer, and they'll need a closer who can hold down the fort in the ninth inning — assuming Jordan Romano, he of the 7.27 ERA in 2025, doesn't magically rediscover his All-Star form from 2022-23.
Even though the trade deadline is a few months away, the Phillies would be smart to be aggressive and leapfrog the market for a shutdown reliever.
3 closers the Phillies can target in a trade to replace Jose Alvarado
Devin Williams, New York Yankees
It isn't the sexiest option, especially given Romano's struggles, but Williams has as dominant of a recent track record as any reliever in baseball.
Rocking a 7.80 ERA in 15 innings this season, Williams hardly resembles the pitcher who had a 1.70 ERA and 68 saves between 2020-24. His fastball velocity (93.6 mph) is down a full tick from last year (and multiple miles per hour from his peak in 2020), and his air-bending changeup has never been hit harder (.309 wOBA allowed).
However, despite those red flags, Williams generating whiffs at a ridiculous 31.5% rate, and his hard-hit rate sits in the 92nd percentile. Plus, over his past four appearances, he's allowed zero runs and just one hit, and he's struck out the side twice.
Given his status as a rental and his struggles in the Bronx, Williams wouldn't cost the Phillies much, even as the Yankees try to recuperate some value from the deal that brought him to New York in the first place. If they believe in his underlying numbers (3.17 FIP), Williams could excel in a return to the National League.
Mason Miller, Athletics
Miller's 4.50 ERA is deceiving. Take away the five earned runs he allowed in Miami on May 3, and he'd have a 1.69 mark that would have him in All-Star consideration (if he isn't already).
The A's closer is striking out a preposterous 47.0% of the hitters he's facing this year and his triple-digit fastball sits in the 100th percentile, according to Baseball Savant. He's pure, unadulterated dominance incarnate, and he's not even arbitration eligible for the first time until next year.
Of course, all of that means Miller is going to be prohibitively expensive in a trade. Plus, the A's, who were 20-17 before their recent 2-8 stretch, may not even be sellers come July.
Should they be willing to discuss Miller, he'd be the best option (by far) that the Phillies could acquire to replace Alvarado. He'd also cost them at least one, if not multiple, of their Top 100 prospects. Is a reliever worth that much?
Ryan Pressly, Chicago Cubs
In terms of acquisition cost, Pressly would be, by far, the cheapest reliever here. And in terms of track record — Pressly has 116 career saves — the 36-year-old has the bonafides to be a closer for a contender.
However, Pressly simply isn't the same pitcher who was so good at the back of Houston's bullpen for the last half-decade. Outside of generating groundballs, Pressly is below-average at everything else this year, including throwing a fastball that's averaging a career-low 93.1 mph.
If you perform the same exercise that we did with Miller by removing Pressly's worst performance of the season — when he allowed eight runs without recording an out vs the Giants on May 6 — his ERA would stand at a tidy 1.65. His 4.86 FIP sort of betrays that, but it does at least serve as a reminder that Pressly hasn't been as bad as Cubs fans have bemoaned this year.
Still, he's nothing more than a temporary replacement for Alvarado. The Phillies could do a lot better if they hope to compete throughout the summer.