Phillies 2025 bullpen outlook: Free-agent options, prospect forecast, and more

One of the Phillies’ biggest strengths all season turned out to be instrumental in their postseason downfall.

“The bullpen picked a bad time to not pitch well,” Phillies president Dave Dombrowski said during his end-of-year press conference.

Dombrowski described the bullpen’s collective 11.37 ERA in the National League Division Series as an “aberration” compared to its body of work in the regular season, and he remains confident in the group heading into 2025.

But the fact remains that the bullpen — which, together with the outfield, had been the Phillies’ focus at the trade deadline — fell flat when it mattered most. Dombrowski’s biggest acquisition in July, reliever Carlos Estévez, delivered the pitch to Francisco Lindor that spelled the end of the Phillies’ season with a go-ahead grand slam.

“Any time you see guys struggle a lot, you get perhaps a little concerned,” Dombrowski said. “I don’t think they were overworked or overtired. We all are searching for that answer ourselves. I still like our group, our core group of guys going into next year.”

Though the core might remain mostly the same, hoping that the NLDS performance truly was an anomaly, there is some room for movement with Estévez and Jeff Hoffman set to hit free agency. José Ruiz and Kolby Allard are also both arbitration-eligible this offseason.

Let’s break down some possibilities for the Phillies’ bullpen in 2025.

Directly after the Game 4 loss, Estévez and Hoffman both expressed interest in returning to the Phillies next season.

“All-Star was it wasn’t one of my goals, the World Series was,” said Hoffman, who earned the first All-Star nod of his career in 2024. “So back to the drawing board. I hope I’m back here next year with the same group and get another crack at it.”

The Phillies struck gold when they took a flier on Hoffman with a minor league contract in 2023. He’d been designated for assignment and non-tendered by the Reds a few months before, but had a resurgence after the Phillies added him to their roster that May. Hoffman came into 2024 as one of Rob Thomson’s most dependable arms and posted a 2.17 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. He was called on in many different situations, and was effective against both righties and lefties. But overall, Hoffman’s second half of the season (3.81 ERA) wasn’t as strong as his first (1.12).

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Estévez, on the other hand, had been a Phillies target for years. They were interested in signing him as a free agent in 2022, although he ended up joining the Angels. When he arrived in Philadelphia in July, Estévez brought with him a scoreless streak that dated back to May 21. While Thomson never formally affixed the “closer” label to him, Estévez was unofficially used in that role, most often pitching in the ninth inning or extras.

But Estévez’s upper-90s four-seamer, typically his bread and butter, was hit hard in the playoffs. Mets hitters had a .750 slugging percentage on the 30 fastballs Estévez threw in October, including Lindor’s Game 4 grand slam.

“We like Carlos Estévez. He did a good job for us. He was solid. He helped shape our bullpen,” Dombrowski said. “I really liked even how he threw in the postseason, until he threw the pitch to Lindor. So he was the one guy that threw the ball well before that.”

But Dombrowski also said it would be unlikely that both right-handers will return.

“It’s hard for me to imagine that you end up bringing them both back under the circumstances, because I would gather they’re both going to get offered long-term, big-dollar contracts, which they’re going to be looking for,” he said. “I don’t see us spending that type of money on two relievers in our bullpen, but I’m just not sure at this time.”

If the Phillies lose Estévez or Hoffman, or both, they will be in the market for a right-handed replacement for high-leverage situations. Lefties Matt Strahm, José Alvarado, and Tanner Banks are set to return next year, and Thomson said in August that he considers Orion Kerkering “kind of a lefty, too,” because of his strong splits against left-handed hitters.

On Wednesday, the Phillies signed right-handed reliever Cody Stashak to a minor league deal, likely hoping that the Somers Point native could pan out as a major league arm the way Hoffman and José Ruiz did in the previous two seasons. Stashak, 30, last pitched in the majors for Minnesota in 2022, and spent the last year on the Giants’ triple A affiliate, where he put up a 5.45 ERA in 36⅓ innings.

Some of the top high-leverage righties on the free-agent market this offseason will include Clay Holmes (Yankees), Kenley Jansen (Red Sox), and Kirby Yates (Rangers).

Holmes had a poor September and lost his role as the Yankees’ closer. But his first half of the season was All-Star caliber, and he has become a dependable arm for New York in the postseason with a 2.31 playoff ERA and a 3-1 record. Holmes, 31, pitches to contact and has one of the best ground-ball rates (64.5%) in MLB.

Jansen is a pure strikeout pitcher who relies on a three-pitch mix of a cutter, slider, and sinker. As Boston’s closer, the 37-year-old posted a 3.29 ERA with 27 saves in 2024. However, he ended the season on the injured list with a sore shoulder.

Yates, also 37, had a resurgence with the Rangers this year and finished the season with a 1.17 ERA and 0.83 WHIP. Yates’ splitter generates a ton of chase (37.8%) and his strikeout rate of 35.9% ranks in the 99th percentile of pitchers. He recorded 33 saves in 34 opportunities.

Left-hander Tanner Scott was previously linked to the Phillies at the trade deadline before being dealt to San Diego. At 30 years old, Scott will be one of the most coveted relievers when he hits the market after finishing the season with a 1.75 ERA and 22 saves in 24 opportunities.

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His slider can also be an effective tool against right-handed hitters, generating whiffs 40.6% of the time in 2024.

Down on the Phillies’ farm, Griff McGarry is pitching in the Arizona Fall League alongside Andrew Painter. McGarry, exclusively a starter in 2023, was moved to the bullpen to start the 2024 triple-A season because of some issues with control. He struggled with injuries this year, but so far has held his opponents in Arizona scoreless across 6⅔ innings, striking out nine.

McGarry is ranked the Phillies' No. 21 prospect, and is Rule 5 eligible this season if not placed on the 40-man roster.

Prospect Alex McFarlane missed the entire 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery. McFarlane primarily pitched out of the bullpen for the University of Miami before the Phillies drafted him in the fourth round in 2022, though he was given an opportunity to start in the minors before his surgery. The 23-year-old righty touched 101 mph with his fastball in 2023, and could be a name to watch when he returns from his rehab.