REPORT: Phillies add lefty Matt Strahm to their bullpen

Dec 7, 2022 - 3:40 AM

Who let the Phillies get hot at these winter meetings? Not content with just Trea Turner and Taijuan Walker, the team has added a lefty reliever to the mix.

I mean, what else can we ask for?

The team needed some relief help, that’s for sure. Specifically, they needed some left handed relief. In Strahm, they fill both of these roster holes in one fell swoop. Strahm isn’t going to light up radar guns, topping out in the mid-90’s with his fastball. He’s got a slider and a curveball that he mixes in, but he doesn’t rely too much on either of them, preferring to spread the wealth around with his pitch mix.

He missed most of 2021, throwing only 8 ¹⁄₃ innings thanks to some injuries, but returned last year to post solid numbers in Boston (44 ²⁄₃ IP, 26.9 k%, 8.8 BB%, .222/.311/.353 line). There were virtually no platoon splits, both sides of the plate posting OPS’s in the mid-.600 range. He’s not going to be the guy you want on the mound in the ninth inning most days, but he’s a solid reliever on a team that can use many, many options at the end of games.

At two years and $15 million, it’s a moderate investment to make in a reliever, but also one that the team needed to do. Now, with most of their offseason shopping complete, they’ll probably look to simply throw some darts against the relief pitching wall and hope they get lucky with a few pitchers here and there.

When it comes to the moves Dave Dombrowski has made, as Borat would say, “I am excite.”