Today is May 3. The Phillies sit in second place in the National League East with an 18-14 record, and they just kicked off their 11th of 52 series yesterday – a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. They have begun to right the ship a bit, winning two straight series after winning only one of the prior five. Fans’ biggest frustration – nay, annoyance – was the bullpen’s struggles in April.
They weren’t the only ones, either. Even Michael Barkann, host of Phillies Postgame Live on NBC Sports Philadelphia, vehemently shared his frustrations with his show’s viewers.
Despite external frustrations, many closer to the team feel like the reflex to reach for the panic button is premature. Manager Rob Thomson will regularly remind the media and fans alike that it’s too early and that things will come around. With a veteran-laden team, he is likely right. Broadcaster John Kruk even mocked Barkann’s theatrics by noting there’s “130-something games left…I don’t know how you make up three games with 130 games left.”
While they aren’t the only group who have struggled, they are the most glaring. Most of the quotes coming from the clubhouse have at least neutral and are thinking about the long-term, but there is a big name that doesn’t want to hear the “it’s still early” talk – the biggest name, in fact. Bryce Harper is the face of the franchise and one of the biggest names in the entire sport. If you ask him, he doesn’t want to hear it:
“You guys say it’s a little early, but I don’t like that,” Harper said after the April 23 series finale in New York. “You should be wanting to play good baseball all year long, from April all the way to November. Obviously that’s not going to happen. You’re going to go through ups and downs and you try to stay as even keel as you can, but we’re a good team in here and we expect to win.”
Winning proved much harder than expected, as Philadelphia had lost four straight and 10 of its last 16 before returning home last Friday. While there are issues with the offense, the likelihood of that continuing with All-Stars in six spots in the batting order is minimal. It is easy to envision the star-studded hitters returning to the back of the baseball card and starting to hit in key moments.
One area that seems to be hanging on by a thread is the bullpen. After striking gold with a few players over the last couple of seasons, their prospecting has revealed nothing but sediment to start the season, with no riches in sight. Philadelphia’s front office may have to think outside the box, and the return of Ranger Suárez tomorrow may force them to do just that.
Bullpen Woes
One place fans thought the front office would address in a more impactful way was the bullpen. With two of the most effective relievers on the 2024 Phillies in Carlos Estévez and Jeff Hoffman headed to free agency, most assumed they would either re-sign one of them or bring in another big name either via free agency or trade. The Phillies, instead, opted to sift through the one-year relief options to try to find another diamond in the rough. In came Jordan Romano and Joe Ross, each on a one-year deal, to replace the right-handed options that signed elsewhere. While they aren’t the only ones struggling, let’s dive into the newcomers.
Romano had a history of being a very effective closer in Toronto. In fact, he may have been the best closer in the majors from 2020 through 2023. After an injury-marred 2024, the Phillies front office thought they were getting great value on a one-year deal if Romano proved healthy. The hopeful signing has provided fans with a type of hope – a hope they won’t see him in a critical spot of the game. It’s early, but Romano’s 13.50 ERA and 7.53 FIP over 11 appearances have hindered the team’s ability to keep games close.
Joe Ross, the other off-season bullpen signing, was coming off his first year seeing significant time as a reliever, and it was a strong one. Phillies President of Baseball Operations, Dave Dombrowski, felt good enough to bring Ross in on a one-year deal as a middle reliever/swingman. After a trade for Jesús Luzardo was going to push Taijuan Walker into the long relief role, Ross’ versatility looked like an even greater value for the World Series hopefuls. Ross’ ERA peaked at 9.39 back on April 16, but he has started to settle in.
Right-handed relievers, as a whole, have struggled. Currently, that group has a 6.18 ERA combined, which is the 3rd worst in the league, and only one of the RHP out of the pen has a sub-4.50 ERA. No bullpen in the league has more blown saves (8) than the Phillies. On the flip side, their starters ERA ranks No. 5 in the majors at 3.34 – and that includes Aaron Nola‘s 5.40 ERA. Without much high-end relief depth available, Philly’s front office may have to get creative to address their top concern.
While they have been good this last week – the bullpen has an 11-innings scoreless streak – there are changes on the horizon. The only team in the majors to not make a single pitching-related move in the first month of the season will have to make one tomorrow.
Ranger’s Return
Ranger Suárez is supposed to be a big part of that starting rotation. A first-time All-Star last season in his final season under contract, Phillies brass thought they would be getting a big season from Suárez. After feeling lower back tightness in spring, leading to a stint on the injured list, they would have to wait to see what the left-hander would bring to the table.
Now that he’s ready to return, the Phillies have the best problem a team could ask for – they have too much starting pitching. Once thought to be an obvious decision, Taijuan Walker has turned back the clock and provided a strong start every time he’s toed the rubber. His 2.54 ERA through six starts is the best start to the season he’s had since 2016, when he started his season with a 1.97 ERA as a member of the Seattle Mariners. The last time he had a sub-3.00 ERA at this point in a season was back in 2022 (2.70) – his final season as a New York Met.
On paper, this is an easy decision – Ranger has been the better pitcher of late, and if he can pitch close to his first half last season, the Phillies would go from ‘one of’ to the best rotation in the sport. If you don’t think it’s easy, Walker’s 20% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate in 2025 – both the worst rates among Phillies starters – ought to convince you. However, what happens next is what makes this decision tougher. If Suárez enters the rotation, that likely means Walker heads to the bullpen.
If you look at his track record, that may not be an improvement over the crop of struggling arms that are out there currently. Walker has almost exclusively been a starter over his 13-year major league career. He’s made just eight relief appearances during that time, half of which came last season. In those four games, he pitched 9.1 innings and allowed eight runs (7 earned) for a 6.52 ERA and 1.97 WHIP.
His FIP of 6.79 implies he was slightly worse than his numbers would indicate. I will acknowledge that Walker was having a rough season and struggled with the transition at times. However, he always had a good attitude. I spoke with him last season when the move was made about his mentality on the change:
“I guess it’s up to me. I have to show them that I can come out of the bullpen and be effective and I’m going to work really hard to do that and I want to be a part of (the postseason). It sucks not being a part of it and not helping out the team. So anything I can do to help out the team – whether it’s one inning, two innings, or whatever they need – I’m going to go out there and do the best I can and try to be a part of it.”
Effect on the Bullpen
If Taijuan moves to the bullpen, Philadelphia would likely move one of its right-handed options out. Orion Kerkering is the only right-hander in the pen with minor league options, but the team believes he has a bright future, and Rob Thomson has spoken highly of the young flamethrower at every turn. While Tanner Banks also has options, he has pitched very well and is left-handed, so not as easy a change.
Romano and Ross, while both struggling, were signed to significant free agent deals – it’s too early to give up on them. That leaves two options: Carlos Hernández and José Ruiz. Ruiz was strong last season, but spectacular in the second half of the season, helping add depth to an already strong relief corps. His 1.99 ERA after the All-Star break in 2024 was best on the team. Hernández was grabbed off waivers after being designated for assignment by the Royals near the end of spring.
Brought in because of his electric ‘stuff’, the results have been among the worst in the sport. He was the man to fill the long-man role that Walker was originally slated to take. While there may be more upside than Ruiz, the results need to improve – and quickly. If they want to keep someone who has started in the past, just in case of emergency, then they may cut ties with Ruiz anyway – a tough pill to swallow after watching him execute at such a high level late in 2024.
Another Man?
There is an option that is not often done in the major leagues, something that could help the team in the short and long term as they look to stay healthy for the later months of the season – that’s a six-man rotation. The Phillies could find a way to navigate the bullpen with one less arm and keep their five effective starters as-is, while adding Suárez’s services to the mix.
Rob Thomson was asked exactly that on Tuesday, and again yesterday, and gave a similar response both times. “Possibly,” he told reporters Tuesday. “Yeah,” he said yesterday when asked if Walker’s role was still TBD. In contrast, Matt Gelb of The Athletic wrote Thursday morning that it’s “highly unlikely” the Phillies will use a six-man rotation. That said, putting him in the bullpen limits their ability to keep him stretched out – something that has proved necessary in recent years.
Major League teams seemingly need up to eight starting pitchers to survive the summer slog that is the baseball season. Moving Walker to the bullpen for an extended period means he won’t work out, prepare, or pitch the same way. This will likely result in a not-so-easy transition back to the rotation, if he is needed there due to injuries. While top prospect Andrew Painter is looming, he is not quite ready to provide the additional depth a team requires to navigate the long season.
This doesn’t change the fact that they would still need to move an arm out of the way. On top of that, it truly limits the options you have in the pen. Without high-end depth and a small number of players with limited options, they don’t have the flexibility usually required to pull off a feat such as this.
There are upsides and downsides to a six-man rotation. Pitching fewer times means less stress on the arm, and more rest for a starting staff that is among the league leaders in innings pitched every season for the last four. Health is hard to maintain for a pitching staff, and keeping your biggest strength as a club as healthy as possible should be a priority. But how early is too early to throw these guys out of their routines?
On the other hand, it would lead to fewer starts for the Phillies’ best pitchers, diminishing what has carried the club in the first month this season. The Phillies also have two off days coming up in the next two weeks (May 5 and 15). If they move to a six-man rotation, some starters would wait a full week between outings. With baseball being a sport of routine and repetition, this could lead to players feeling off and throwing accordingly. There’s a fine line between rest and rust – we saw it when the team had a week off before taking on the New York Mets in the NLDS last season.
Let’s not forget – this also means one less reliever. Philadelphia’s bullpen has struggled enough this season, producing a 4.70 ERA and eight blown saves – numbers that look not-half-bad after the 11 straight scoreless innings streak. Those numbers would likely look even worse had they split their 105.1 innings of work between seven arms instead of eight.
In Conclusion
Philly has a tough decision to make – one that could impact both the starters and the relievers for the rest of the season. It’s the first tough decision they’ve had to make. I asked Thomson before yesterday’s contest if they knew whose spot on the roster Ranger would be taking tomorrow:
“No,” Thomson said, emphatically. He added, with a smirk: “Well yes, but I’m not going to tell you.“
To me, that makes it clear they have spent a lot of time thinking about not only this move, but the next one, when Painter is ready for action. They have a game plan, and hopefully for them, the fans, and the players, they can execute it to perfection. Until we know more, just like who’s starting Tuesday, the pitching picture in Philadelphia is TBD.
