Phillies Likely To Pursue Left-Handed Setup Man

The Phillies have a long to-do list this offseason, with needs in the outfield, the bullpen and at third base (among others). Regarding the bullpen, Matt Gelb of The Athletic writes that Philadelphia will be in the market to add a left-handed setup reliever to help bridge the gap to star closer Jhoan Duran.

It’s a sensible pursuit. The 28-year-old Duran is one of the game’s best relievers, and the Phils have some quietly solid right-handed options already in their high-leverage mix. Last offseason’s swap of veteran lefty Matt Strahm for Royals righty Jonathan Bowlan proved to be a heist after Bowlan delivered 56 1/3 innings of 3.36 ERA ball with a 31.9% strikeout rate, 6.6% walk rate and 47.8% ground-ball rate. He’s controlled for five more years. Flamethrowing young righty Alex McFarlane posted a 1.83 ERA in the minors before debuting with 19 innings of 2.84 ERA ball (25.3% strikeout rate, 8.9% walk rate, 45.3% grounder rate).

That gives the Phils a formidable trio of righties late in games, but the left-handed group is more lacking. Southpaw Tim Mayza already re-signed on a one-year deal worth $2.75MM, but the Phillies primarily used him in middle relief. Fellow lefty Tanner Banks is a non-tender candidate after posting an ugly 6.19 ERA in 36 1/3 innings. Banks had a strong 2025 showing, but he’s 35 and posted career-worst walk, ground-ball and home-run rates in 2026. Twenty-eight-year-old Kyle Backhus had nice numbers in Triple-A but barely kept his ERA south of 5.00 in 20 MLB frames. He has a 4.76 ERA overall in 45 1/3 major league innings.

While this year’s free agent class is generally weak, it’s a good winter to be in the market for relievers — particularly from the left side. Adrian Morejon is one of the best relief pitchers in the game, regardless of handedness. He’s likely to reject a qualifying offer from the Padres and cash in on a sizable multi-year deal. The Phillies haven’t given out more than two years to a free agent reliever under president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, however, and Morejon should command a deal of four or even five years due to his dominance and youth. He’ll turn 28 in February.

If that level of investment proves too steep, Dombrowski & Co. have plenty of options in the next tier of left-handed relievers. Alex Vesia doesn’t throw hard but has been a persistent force in the Dodgers’ bullpen in recent years, thanks to an extreme over-the-top arm angle that generates elite levels of induced vertical break on his heater. Others on the market who enjoyed strong performances in 2026 include Steven Okert, A.J. Minter, Sean Newcomb and Brock Burke. Old friends JoJo Romero and Gregory Soto are out there, too, if the Phillies are open to running it back with either. A.J. Puk stands out as a high-end rebound candidate, though he’s missed time due to a UCL surgery and a capsule sprain in his shoulder over the past couple seasons, so he’d be a pure dice roll and not someone to be counted on as the primary addition to a bullpen.

As for other targets this winter, Gelb suggests that the Phils could look to bring in another catcher to lighten J.T. Realmuto’s workload after the 35-year-old (36 in March) turned in a career-worst .205/.283/.331 batting line (68 wRC+). That doesn’t necessarily need to be a big-name acquisition, but the Phillies were lacking in alternatives this season. Both Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchan produced even weaker numbers than Realmuto at the plate in a combined 160 plate appearances. That trio accounted for all of the Phillies work behind the dish in 2026.

Ryan Jeffers, Carson Kelly and Tyler Stephenson are the top options on the open market this winter, but if the Phils prefer a more affordable backup type, they could look to any of Jonah Heim, Christian Vazquez, James McCann, Kyle Higashioka or Gary Sanchez. The trade market has a few high-profile option, while the Cardinals in particular have ample catching depth from which they could deal.