Phillies’ new president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has been one busy boy. The Phillies traded for Jose Alvarado in a 3-team deal. Now, they are acquiring a reliever from the San Francisco Giants.
Sam Coonrod was a steady reliever for the Giants in 2019. That year he posted an ERA of 3.58 in 27.2 IP. His ERA+ of 119 shows that he thrived in the year of the home run cascade.
2020 was a different story for Coonrod. Like Alvarado, he struggled in the COVID stricken 2020 campaign. He had a 9.82 ERA in 14.2 IP. Philadelphia will be looking for Coonrod to bounce back in the 2021 season.
Coonrod is still relatively young. He’ll be 28 to start out the 2021 season. In 2020, Coonrod saw an uptick in his already impressive fastball velocity. He went from averaging around 97 MPH in 2019 to averaging 99 MPH in 2020, topping out at 101.
Phillies’ Contribution:
The Phillies send their 2020 4th round selection, Carson Ragsdale, to the Giants in the exchange. Ragsdale looked to have a promising 2020 college season when COVID cut things short. In 4 starts for the South Florida Bulls, he posted an ERA of 2.84 with a K/9 of 17.5.
This move makes sense for the Phillies, as they are trying to find some “MLB ready” relievers to bolster their 2021 bullpen. Last year, it was no secret how bad their late game pitchers were.
There is no doubt that the Phillies will continue to scour the market (free agent and trade) to bolster their bullpen.
Mandatory Photo Credit: Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire
