The Phillies are heading into a winter that could define the next step for this group, and the warning sign is staring them right in the face: they cannot afford another bullpen miss.
Philadelphia’s season ended with an elimination by the Atlanta Braves, and that’s where the offseason begins. Making the playoffs is one thing for this club. Falling short of expectations is another, and getting bounced in the Wild Card Round is not the kind of ending that will be easy to shrug off.
There are bigger questions hanging over the sport as well, including whether there will even be baseball next year. But before any of that gets sorted out, the Phillies have a clear job to do, and one area keeps coming back as the problem they have not solved.
They tried to patch the bullpen this past offseason, but the fixes never really held. Brad Keller was brought in, but an injury wiped him out and left a hole behind. At the trade deadline, Philadelphia added Caleb Kilian and Brooks Raley, yet neither ended up on the postseason roster.
That has become a familiar theme over the last five years of this playoff run. Again and again, the bullpen has been part of the reason the Phillies have not gotten over the hump.
Last season, the club landed its star closer in Jhoan Duran, but even that didn’t solve everything. Getting the ball to him with a lead has remained the issue across the last two playoff runs. This year, he was brought in during the seventh inning and then blew the game in the eighth, a choice that says plenty about how little trust the team had in the rest of the relief group.
The rotation should still be strong next season, but that only sharpens the need for better middle relief. In October, the bullpen has to deliver, and the Phillies have not gotten enough from that part of the roster.
So this winter has to look different. Philadelphia needs to be far more aggressive in chasing bullpen help than it has been in recent years. The core is getting older, and the clock on this group is becoming a real part of the conversation.
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