Philadelphia Phillies Can Address Bullpen Woes in Trade With Pirates at Deadline

The Philadelphia Phillies have been one of the best teams in baseball throughout the 2025 regular season, but there are a few areas the team should be looking to upgrade ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

There are concerns about their offensive production, especially in the outfield, where their center fielders are on pace to make some ugly franchise history. Their left field platoon has not yielded as positive of results as the team had hoped for either.

However, the most pressing need to address exists in the bullpen, which was a strength in 2024 but is now a weakness.

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Losing Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez in free agency was going to be tough to overcome. Add to that Jose Alvarado being suspended for 80 games during the season and there just isn’t enough in place to compensate.

Their offseason additions of Jordan Romano, Carlos Hernandez and Joe Ross have not panned out as planned.

On top of their struggles, manager Rob Thomson has no right-handed options he can trust to consistently get left-handed hitters out. Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks cannot face them all.

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Adding a relief pitcher is a must ahead of the trade deadline. Ideally, it would be someone who has late-game experience.

The perfect trade partner for the Phillies to fill the bullpen void is the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have multiple relief pitchers that should be available at the right price.

If Philadelphia wants to go all-in, David Bednar is their guy.

He has regained his form in 2025 after a brutal 2024, when he was removed from the closer’s role. Through 28 appearances he has a 3.38 ERA with 34 strikeotus through 24 innings and has converted all 10 of his save chances.

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Most importantly, Bednar is tough on lefties, allowing a .548 OPS and only one extra-base hit in 41 at-bats. He can slot right into a high-leverage role for Thomson to help replace Alvardo late in games.

Should the asking price be too high on the two-time All-Star, the Phillies could inquire about Dennis Santana.

While Bednar worked through early-season struggles, he was handling the closer’s job to great success. He has a 1.4 bWAR with a 1.74 ERA across 31 appearances and 31 innings, recording five saves.

Santana isn’t blowing opponents away with an elite strikeout rate like Bednar, but he is even tougher on left-handed hitters.

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In 37 at-bats, lefties have only four hits, all singles, recording a measly .271 OPS, the exact kind of production the Philadelphia bullpen needs.

Both Bednar and Santana are under contract beyond 2025, which will make them more expensive. If the asking price is too much, the Phillies can ask about left-handed reliever, Caleb Ferguson.

He was solid for the Houston Astros last year after being acquired from the New York Yankees ahead of the deadline and has remained productive with the Pirates.

He has a 3.32 ERA across 32 apperances and 29.2 innings with 23 strikeouts and has yet to allow a home run in 2025.

Incredibly tough on left-handed hitters, allowing an OPS of .496, Ferguson may not have the kind of high-leverage experience the team is seeking, but he would certainly help address their struggles against lefties.

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