New Phillies reliever Matt Strahm brings uncommonly varied repertoire to bullpen role

It’s uncommon for a reliever to throw five distinct types of pitches. But Matt Strahm has a good reason for why he maintains such a varied repertoire.

“I’m going to be a starter one day,” the 31-year-old lefty said on a Zoom call Friday after finalizing a two-year contract with the Phillies that is worth $15 million, according to sources, “so I need all five of them.”

Strahm was kidding. Sort of. Well, maybe. He did make 16 starts for the San Diego Padres in 2019. But all but 25 of his 207 major league appearances have come in relief, and the Phillies bowled him over with an offer this week to join fellow lefty José Alvarado in a bullpen that is in the annual process of being recast.

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It will be interesting to see how manager Rob Thomson winds up deploying Strahm, who has relatively equal if slightly reverse splits against left-handed hitters and righties. Strahm essentially replaces Brad Hand as the secondary lefty. Hand had a 2.80 ERA in 45 innings but was used sparingly down the stretch and in the postseason.

The Phillies will likely add another reliever to a group that includes Seranthony Domínguez, Alvarado, Strahm, Connor Brogdon, Andrew Bellatti, and long man Nick Nelson. They must replace some of the 102 innings that came from veterans David Robertson, Corey Knebel, and Jeurys Familia. Robertson signed a one-year, $10 million contract this week with the New York Mets.

Strahm posted a 3.83 ERA in 44⅔ innings for the Boston Red Sox, a bounce-back season after struggling in 2021 while coming back from right knee surgery. But the Phillies came hard after Strahm because of his underlying metrics. His strikeout rate soared to 26.9%, up from 11.1% in 2021 and 18.1% in 2020, and he held batters to a .296 weighted on-base average, down from .441 in 2021.

“Philly didn’t really give many [other teams] a chance,” said Strahm, who said he had “a couple” of other offers. “They kind of made it look sweet. And I mean, you can’t argue with that team. I’m at the point in my career where winning’s everything. I did the rebuild thing in San Diego. I want to be on a team that’s ready to compete, and you can’t argue with what the Phillies have done.”

Strahm’s assorted pitch mix makes him an interesting case for the Phillies’ brain trust.

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Pitching coach Caleb Cotham and director of pitching Brian Kaplan were successful this year in getting certain pitchers to rely more heavily on a particular pitch. Bellatti, for instance, increased his slider usage to 52.4% from 38.6% in 2021 and the 31-year-old became a regular member of a bullpen for the first time in his career.

Strahm said he took catcher Christian Vázquez’s suggestion in Boston to throw his curveball more often (17%) this year than in 2021 (13.2%) and held opponents to a .135 average and .324 slugging percentage. But he still leaned more on his slider (21%), against which hitters batted .233 and slugged .300.

Maybe the Phillies will encourage Strahm to emphasize one off-speed pitch over another. He’s heard that from pitching coaches in the past.

“Vazquez liked my curveball a lot, so I used it a lot in the beginning,” Strahm said. “And then it was like, ‘I do have the slider, I do like the slider. Let’s maybe mix it in a little bit.’ I always tell my catchers, ‘Yo, I trust you. Pretend you’re playing MLB The Show. Tell me what you want, and I’ll execute it.’”

Strahm insists he’s willing to do almost anything, in fact, for a chance to win. He’s been in the playoffs only once, in 2020 with the Padres.

Like many free agents, Strahm said he was struck by the atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park during the postseason. He described what he saw on television as “magical,” and since the baseball world is small, that characterization was easily verified.

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Strahm grew up in West Fargo, N.D., and is friendly with 2006-09 Phillies catcher Chris Coste, also a Fargo native. Coste even caught Strahm’s bullpen sessions in the 2016-17 offseason.

“Every time I’m back in Fargo, if I need a place to throw, I hit him up,” Strahm said. “He’s still got unbelievable hands back there. He reached out, congratulated me.”