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Phillies’ Need to Upgrade Position Deemed ‘Most Urgent’ in Baseball

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jacob Mountz | Last updated Jun 13, 2025 11:15 AM ET

Though they’re one of the NL’s dominant teams, the Philadelphia Phillies have had their fair share of disappointments this season. The rotation has had its ups and downs, the outfield is a quagmire of bad defense and subpar production, but above all else, their bullpen has been their biggest concern.

As a whole, the Phillies’ bullpen ranks seventh-worst in the MLB with a 4.56 ERA. As of this writing, they are the only team with a record above .500 and a relief corps ERA that high (Diamondbacks are at .500 and have a slightly higher ERA). When ranking which postseason hopefuls need relief help the most, writer for The Athletic, Aaron Gleeman, ranked the Phillies’ case as the most urgent.

“Jordan Romano has been a bust thus far, and José Alvarado is suspended through mid-August and then ineligible for the postseason, making it clear the Phillies will need to shop for late-inning bullpen help if they’re going to make another playoff run this October," he wrote.

“That’s nothing new for a Dave Dombrowski-led front office. Philadelphia switched up its bullpen at last year’s deadline, bringing in Carlos Estévez and Tanner Banks while sending out Gregory Soto and Seranthony Domínguez. And multiple moves might be required again to solidify a unit that ranks 25th in ERA. Something resembling, say, a Jeff Hoffman replacement would work.”

To Gleeman’s point, the bullpen problem is a significant one that could cause issues with their postseason picture. There are a number of relievers that could be the “Jeff Hoffman replacement” Gleeman mentions; however, we don’t yet know who or how many of them will be on the market. Both Jake Bird and Aroldis Chapman appear to be staying put, limiting what should be a seller’s market.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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