Phillies Sign Former Mets Pitcher To Bolster Reliever Depth

Bullpen continues to be a talking point surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies.

That was on full display following their disastrous walk-off loss against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday when Jordan Romano was tasked with putting together a five-inning save after he had to come in for the struggling Daniel Robert in what was a two-run game.

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In all likelihood, the trade deadline is going to solve some of the issues the Phillies have, but creating a stable full of options is something they are looking to do as well.

They did just that with their latest move.

On July 9, Philadelphia signed Phil Bickford to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, per his transactions log.

The right-hander was most recently with the Chicago Cubs, pitching with their Triple-A affiliate this season and putting together some good numbers with a 2.60 ERA across 20 appearances where he struck out 36 batters and walked just six in 27 2/3 innings pitched.

Bickford last pitched in the Majors during the 2024 season with the New York Yankees, a tenure that only lasted eight outings because he gave up eight earned runs on 10 hits in 8 1/3 innings of work.

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Phillies fans might recognize the name for his time with the New York Mets in 2023 after he was traded there by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 1.

For the rest of that year, he produced a 4.62 ERA in 25 appearances, striking out 28 in 25 1/3 innings.

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Bickford is an interesting addition because he has pedigree as a former 18th overall pick by the San Francisco Giants in the 2015 draft.

He'll be someone to keep an eye on for the rest of the season.

At just 30 years old, if he gets called up at some point and can replicate what he did with the Cubs' minor league affiliate, then there's a chance he can carve out a role for himself in Philadelphia.

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