3 Lefty Relievers With Electric 'Stuff' Phillies Should Target At Trade Deadline

The Philadelphia Phillies need bullpen help.

Everyone knows that.

The suspension of Jose Alvarado didn't help matters, taking one high-leverage bullpen arm out of the equation for a good chunk of the regular season and all of the playoffs.

Replacing him is going to be hard, especially because he was one of the best left-handed relievers in the sport when it came to his actual production and advanced underlying metrics.

One of those benchmarks is Stuff+, a statistic put together by FanGraphs that is solely based on physical characteristics of a pitch that aims to capture the "nastiest" pitches in baseball by using release points, velocities, movement and other factors.

At the time of writing, Alvarado is tied for ninth in the MLB among lefty relievers with a Stuff+ rating of 116.

If Philadelphia is going to replicate what Alvarado has given them out of the bullpen, then these three left-handers are who they should go after.

Mason Montgomery

This would be a massive move for the Phillies if they can pull this off.

The 24-year-old former sixth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays might not look like he's having a great season when it comes to the 4.87 ERA he has in his first full campaign in The Show, but his Stuff+ is the best among all lefties in baseball with a rating of 129.

That is eight points ahead of Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia and Toronto Blue Jays bullpen arm Brendon Little who are second in that metric.

Getting something done on this front is going to be hard.

Montgomery is still in pre-arbitration, so he has multiple years of club control remaining that is going to make the asking price high when it comes to landing him.

The good news is the Rays are likely going to be sellers and they won't turn down a good deal for just about anyone on their roster.

Reid Detmers

The former 10th overall pick by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2020 draft was a flop as a starting pitcher, prompting the team to move him into the bullpen.

Similarly to Montgomery, Detmers' ERA doesn't suggest he's having a good season with his number sitting at 6.04 through his 22 outings.

However, Philadelphia needs to be betting on the stuff of pitchers if they are going to replace Alvarado, and in that aspect, Detmers has been electric with a Stuff+ number of 110.

That is one point above Matt Strahm and two points above Tanner Banks, so adding someone like him would give the Phillies another left-hander with nasty stuff they can call upon.

With three more years of club control remaining, this could also be a hefty asking price. But the two franchises have worked out deals in the past and should be able to get something done here.

Aroldis Chapman

The ageless wonder is doing it again this season.

Sitting with a 1.80 ERA through 27 outings, the flamethrower is in the midst of his best showing since 2019.

While fans might not want to sign up for the rollercoaster experience that is Chapman coming off two consecutive years where Craig Kimbrel and Carlos Estevez were closing games for the team, Chapman's walk rate is down substantially to what it's been in the past as he sits with a WHIP under 1.00.

Also, his Stuff+ number is 110, with his Pitching+ figure being the best among all left-handed relievers at 131.

It could be a risk to bring in Chapman after he's gotten off to such a great start, but with the Boston Red Sox underperforming and him being a rental, it wouldn't take a ton of prospect capital to land the 37-year-old.

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