Insider Names Star Tampa Bay Closer as Best Trade Deadline Fit for Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies need help in their bullpen, badly.

After star reliever Jose Alvarado was suspended for essentially the remainder of the season for a positive test for performance enhancing drugs, Philadelphia has been trying to piece together a formula for high-leverage outs in the late innings.

It does not help, either, that president of baseball operatioins Dave Dombrowski whiffed on his big reliever acquisition of the offseason, as Jordan Romano has floundered with the Phillies while Jeff Hoffman has flourished with Romano's former club in Toronto.

As it stands, the Philadelphia bullpen ranks 25th in MLB with a 4.67 ERA, and while the unit's struggles in the postseason have been a sore spot for fans in previous years, this season's group is far more vulnerable than it has been prior.

In 2024, the group finished 14th in ERA, and they actually ranked seventh in 2023. They still faltered in the playoffs, and Dombrowski needs to find massive solutions to avoid the same fate this year.

Who Could the Philadelphia Phillies Target to Save Their Bullpen?

The time is coming for those decisions to be made, as ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan took his first swing at tracking what every team needs ahead of the July 31 MLB trade deadline.

Philadelphia has a stacked starting rotation and talented, if streaky, lineup, so it's clear to Passan and most any analyst where the team needs the most help.

"The Phillies' bullpen has been one of the worst in baseball," Passan wrote. "Even if it was much better in May, their only reliever with a sub-3.00 ERA was Orion Kerkering."

In assigning a player who is the single best fit for every team he dubbed a buyer, Passan tabbed Tampa Bay Rays closer Pete Fairbanks as the best fit for the team to acquire.

"Maybe it's Fairbanks," Passan added. "Maybe it's [Nationals closer Kyle] Finnegan. Maybe it's both. Or even more."

Even as the Rays are contenders in the American League wild card race, it would make perfect sense for Dombrowski to make calls on Fairbanks, as Tampa Bay is pretty much always open for business if they feel a move puts them in a better spot long term.

When Philadelphia acquired Jose Alvarado from Tampa Bay in 2020, the Rays were coming off an appearance in the World Series and got little of value from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the three-team swap.

The move paid dividends for the Phillies, but the Rays were fine moving off a talented reliever who did not fit into their long term plans.

Fairbanks, a key part of that 2020 run, could bring his talent and postseason pedigree to Philadelphia.

The hard-throwing righty owns a 1.96 ERA with 10 saves in 2025 and would immediately step into the closer role for the Phillies.

If the acquisition cost makes sense, and it would have to be fairly prohibitive to justify not adding such a high-end closer to such an otherwise-talented roster, Dombrowski should pull the trigger.