Phillies' Dombrowski Comments on Bullpen Struggles

Orion Kerkering is coming off a bad outing against the Miami Marlins where he blew the game by allowing a three-run home run late. Kerkering has a 4.50 ERA in eight innings pitched, and has been solid outside the one blowup outing against the Marlins.

Jose Alvarado has been the best reliever on the Phillies, with a 2.53 ERA, two wins, and five saves to begin the year. Matt Strahm has picked up where he left off in 2024, as he has a 1.74 ERA through 10 and one-third innings to begin 2025.

However, the rest of the bullpen has been subpar. Dombrowski went into detail about those relievers, and what his thoughts are on them, especially the right-handed pitchers.

"From the right-hand side, we've really had a struggle so far. Romano has not pitched like we thought he would... We need guys like Romano. Joe Ross pitched well yesterday, but he's been a little bit inconsistent for us. So we need those types of guys to step up."

Romano has a 15.26 ERA to begin the year, while Ross has a 7.45 ERA. Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Esteves look great on their new teams, while their replacements in Romano and Ross, have been disappointing.

The struggles from the bullpen have led to the Phillies having the second-worst bullpen ERA in baseball at 5.81. Despite the poor start, Dombrowski still believes in the bullpen, saying, "I do think guys like Romano and Ross will come around and pitch like they have in the past."

Fortunately, the Phillies have seen their bullpen turn around from a bad start before, including just last year. A rough April for the 2024 Phillies bullpen turned into an incredible May, with their ERA dropping from 5.42 to 2.13 in one month.

Dombrowski still believes in this bullpen, but with the continued struggle of the right-handed relievers, there must be a plan in place to add one or two by the trade deadline.