The Phillies’ bullpen needs are hard to miss, and one free-agent name on Jim Bowden’s board fits the conversation cleanly: Jonathan Loáisiga.
Bowden of The Athletic placed the right-handed reliever at No. 42 on his list of the Top 40 MLB free agents, with a few more names grouped as the “best of the rest.” He also identified the Phillies and Diamondbacks as possible landing spots for Loáisiga this winter.
That makes sense for Philadelphia, which got uneven relief work at the wrong time. The club’s 4.43 bullpen ERA ranked 20th in the big leagues, and the unit’s September collapse was especially damaging, as the Phillies bullpen posted a 5.79 ERA that month. The struggles carried straight into October, when Philadelphia’s relievers gave up seven earned runs in 12.2 innings during the National League Wild Card Series against the Atlanta Braves.
Adding more depth to the bullpen, particularly a lefty, is part of the puzzle for a team trying to push deeper into the postseason.
Loáisiga just finished the 2026 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks and gave them a strong year. He worked to a 2.42 ERA with 48 strikeouts, the second-most he has ever had in a season, while setting a career high with 67 appearances and 67 innings out of the bullpen.
He also posted a 1.03 WHIP, a 172 ERA+ and a 2.88 FIP. Perhaps just as important, he stayed healthy for Arizona, which matters as he heads into free agency.
Before that, Loáisiga spent eight seasons with the New York Yankees from 2018 to 2025. His best run in pinstripes came in 2021, when he logged a 2.17 ERA in 70.2 innings and finished 9-4. Across his Yankees tenure, he put up a 4.2 WAR, a 3.54 ERA in 249.1 innings and 232 strikeouts.
Injuries made the final stretch of his time in New York difficult, especially from 2023 to 2025, when staying on the mound became a challenge.
Philadelphia was still in the race until the end of the regular season in 2026, and shoring up the bullpen could be one way to help the team get to the postseason earlier and make that next step once it gets there.
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Diamondbacks First Base Picture Could Shape A Surprising Free Agent Fit
Jake Bauers is now in line for a potentially interesting winter after the Brewers tendered him a qualifying offer following his 2026 season, a move that gives Milwaukee a chance to keep him while also setting up a decision that could push him into the open market. If he declines, the expectation is that he will look for a multi-year deal, and Arizona has already surfaced as a logical landing spot for a club that could be looking to add stability at first base.
The fit is not quite as simple as it first appears, though, because the Diamondbacks in-house roster choices could change the equation before free agency really gets going. Arizona has been linked to the idea of reshuffling its defense to cover the position internally, which means Bauers could end up being the kind of target that makes sense on paper but only if the rest of the roster picture breaks a certain way. [Read more 🡒]