Sep 8, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jhoan Duran (59) celebrates after getting the final out against the New York Mets during the ninth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
PHILADELPHIA -- Last winter, the Phillies approach to constructing a bullpen brought about many a furrowed brow.
Were they really replacing both Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez with Jordan Romano who was coming off an injury and was non-tendered by Toronto in the process?
Yes, that was the plan. And it was an unmitigated disaster.
SFG - Patrick Bailey 3-run HR (1)
📏 Distance: 414 ft
💨 EV: 103.4 mph
📐 LA: 29°
⚾️ 93.9 mph four-seam fastball (PHI - RHP Jordan Romano)
🏟️ Would be out in 29/30 MLB parks
PHI (3) @ SFG (4)
🔻 9th#SFGiants pic.twitter.com/XZZi3O83cj
In an effort to adjust for that miss along the way there were several other attempts at bubble gum and duck tape for the bullpen that also didn't hold.
Joe Ross was signed and released. Carlos Hernandez was added just before the season began, and was terrible. Jose Ruiz was a shell of the erstwhile useful pitcher he was in 2024.
And do you remember the guy who posted this stat line out of the pen?
62IP, 60H, 34R, 30ER, 8HR, 37BB, 61K, 4.36 ERA, 1.57 WHIP
O.K. Trick question. It wasn't one guy.
Those are the combined stats of Daniel Robert, Seth Johnson, Alan Rangel, Lou Trivino, Tim Mayza, Michael Mercado, Weston Wilson (Yes, Weston Wilson), Brett de Geus (remember him?) and Nolan Hoffman.
Combine that with the 80-game suspension of Jose Alvarado, and it's no wonder Dave Dombrowski was hell-bent on landing Jhoan Duran via trade and why he also paid David Robertson a handsome amount of money for two months work right before the deadline.
It was a lot of unnecessary hoop jumping for the Phillies. They could have chosen to try to keep the players they had, but decided to let them walk and put their trust in a reclamation project.
While Estevez and Hoffman did get bigger contracts than the Phillies were willing to pay, it's been hard to ignore that Estevez led the majors in saves (44) with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP while pitching for Kansas City, and Hoffman, although he struggled for most of the season, struck out the side in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the ALCS to propel the Toronto Blue Jays to their first world series since beating the Phillies in 1993.
Jeff Hoffman was drafted by the @BlueJays in 2014 and traded away in 2015.
He returned to the organization 10 years later and just sent Toronto to the World Series! pic.twitter.com/cEzirpvXcQ
One would think that after such a tumultuous season, one that also included Matt Strahm struggling in the playoffs for a second straight season and Orion Kerkering having his Bill Buckner moment to painfully end the Phillies 2025 campaign, that there would be a different approach to building a bullpen for 2026.
It sounds like one would be wrong.
When asked at his season ending press conference if he would take a different approach to the bullpen this season, Dombrowski suggested he would mostly run it back with who is already part of the team.
"We have a closer, so that's a big difference," Dombrowski said, comparing the situation to where the team was at this point a year ago. "You build around that. Strahm did solid. He made a couple bad pitches in the postseason, but he had a good year for us. (Tanner) Banks did a good job for us from the left hand side. ... I'd be surprised, without making any announcements, that Alvarado is not back with us, but we'll see what ends up happening.
"We like Kerkering from the right hand side. ... We have some young guys that we like that we're looking to make some strides. You've seen some of them - a (Max) Lazar-type of guy. So, we'll have to look at the overall picture, but I do like the foundation of our bullpen."
So, Dombrowski mentioned Duran, Strahm, Banks, Kerkering, Alvarado and Lazar.
That's six guys. A bullpen usually has eight to start the season. One of them is a long-man, which could be Taijuan Walker, if he's not needed to start games at the beginning of the season. If he is, that role is often filled by an internal candidate.
Which means, there may only be one spot open in the bullpen - and likely for a right-handed reliever.
But that doesn't mean the Phillies will definitely pursue it in free agency. The Phillies have some fast-risers in their system, most notably Alex McFarlane, who finished the 2025 season at Double-A Reading.
The expectation is that he will be added to the 40-man roster this offseason.
Could the Phillies potentially chase a free agent reliever with a successful track record? Yes. But how many of those have they really gone after in Dombrowski's tenure?
Craig Kimbrel is the only name that comes to mind, and how'd that work out?
Alek Thomas drills a two-run homer off of Phillies reliever Craig Kimbrel to tie Game 4 of the NLCS up for the Diamondbacks. pic.twitter.com/mrHTH5SCQS
Instead, if there is a free agent addition - and that's a big if, Dombrowski may swim in the Seranthony Dominguez, Tyler Rogers, Devin Williams waters.
All three would be an upgrade to the Phillies bullpen and likely not cost too much money, but that doesn't mean the Phillies will want to add in this manner.
It's a little perplexing, but it's still just October. Things rarely make sense when it comes to roster construction now. Clarity starts to come into play in November and December. But for now, we're left to speculate.
Except that with the Phillies, instead of throwing around wild rumors about free agent signings, the crazy speculation is that they may not change a thing in the bullpen.
And considering how the 2025 season went, if that's the case, then it would be stunning.
